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    Home » Indian Sweets » Halwa, Sheera

    Badam Halwa (Almond Sheera)

    Published: Aug 17, 2020 · Last Modified: Aug 5, 2022 by Kanan Patel / 16 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    Collage of 4 images showing almond halwa in a bowl with spoon taken, soaked almonds, cooking and ready halwa in a pan

    The BEST Badam Halwa you’ll ever eat! It is a perfectly rich and heavy festive dessert. This recipe gives the exact same taste as you get in South Indian mithai shops.

    Badam is the Hindi term for almonds, so it is also called almond halwa. In the western part of India, this kind of pudding is referred to as sheera. Hence we call it badam sheera.

    Badam halwa take with a spoon ready to eat
    Jump to:
    • ❤️Why I Love This Recipe
    • 🧾Ingredients
    • 👩‍🍳 Step By Step Photo Instructions 
    • 💭Expert Tips
    • FAQs
    • 📋 Recipe Card
    • ⭐ Reviews

    ❤️Why I Love This Recipe

    This is the traditional method of making almond halwa when almonds are blanched, peeled and ground and used in the recipe. There is another method that uses almond flour (detailed mentioned below).

    The cooking time is only 15 minutes. That’s quick and you’ll have decadent dessert is ready.

    This badam halwa recipe gives the perfect texture (soft yet firm), not pasty or dense at all.

    It has the right amount of sweetness and richness. Perfect for festivals like Diwali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Iftar, etc.

    🧾Ingredients

    Here is the pic of ingredients used in almond halwa. You’ll need total 6 ingredients + water.

    • As the name of the dish, almonds are the main ingredients, so use the good quality almonds. 
    • Adjust the sugar as per your liking sweetness. We prefer our desserts just sweet.
    • Saffron and cardamom powder are added for the flavor. 
    Ingredients used in almond halwa includes almonds, sugar, milk, ghee, saffron, cardamom, water.

    👩‍🍳 Step By Step Photo Instructions 

    1) Take almonds in a bowl. Pour about a cup of hot boiling water. And let it soak the almonds for at least 5-15 minutes.

    2) Drain all the water and start peeling the almonds. As we blanched the almonds it will be very easy to peel the skin off. It took me only 5 minutes.

    3) Now take peeled almonds and milk in a blender.

    4) And grind it into a puree. It should have some texture, do not make it smooth paste-like. 

    Collage of 4 images showing, blanching almonds, peeling almonds, in the blender with milk, ground paste

    5) Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter) in a pan on LOW heat.

    6) Once the ghee is hot, add pureed almonds. And cook it with stirring continuously.

    7) Keep cooking till all the milk or moisture gets evaporated and it starts to leave the sides of the pan. It took me about 10 minutes. Add saffron strands and mix it well.

    8) Add sugar and mix. 

    9) Sugar will start to melt and halwa will become runny again. At this time add 1 tablespoon of ghee.

    10) Keep stirring and cooking till it starts to leave sides of the pan and fat will ooze out. That time halwa is ready, turn off the gas heat.

    💭Expert Tips

    • Stirring constantly is the key here. Otherwise, it sticks, burns to the bottom of the pan. This burning flavor will ruin the halwa taste.
    • Keep the gas heat LOW.
    • Add ghee in two stages to get the best texture of halwa. First, in the beginning, second at the end of the cooking process.
    • Storage: This badam halwa stays good in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

    FAQs

    How to make Almond halwa with almond flour?

    Make a paste from almond flour (almond meal) by mixing with milk and use that paste just like I have used coarsely ground almonds paste in the recipe. Keep in mind that texture and taste will be different than made traditionally.

    Can I use jaggery instead of sugar?

    Personally, I have not tried. But one of the readers has tried this badam halwa with jaggery and she says it works fine. You can read the comment below.

    Badam halwa in a bowl garnished with saffron, few whole amonds are in the background

    Check Out Other Halwa Recipes

    • Atta halwa
    • Lauki halwa
    • Sheera
    • Rava kesari
    • Beetroot halwa 
    • Moong dal halwa

    PS Tried this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback! Plus, Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates.

    📋 Recipe Card

    Step by Step Photos AboveWant to make it perfect first time? Don't forget to check out Step-by-Step photo instructions and helpful Tips & Tricks !!
    Badam halwa take with a spoon ready to eat
    Print Pin Save Saved!

    Badam Halwa (Almond Sheera)

    5 from 5 votes
    Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and/or give ★ ratings
    The BEST Badam Halwa you’ll ever eat! It is a perfectly rich and heavy festive dessert.
    Author: Kanan
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Indian
    Calories: 341kcal
    Servings 6
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Total Time 30 minutes
    US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml) See details

    Ingredients  

    • 1 cup Almonds
    • 1 ½ cup Water (boiling hot)
    • 1 cup Milk
    • 4 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter)
    • ⅔ cup Sugar
    • 10 strands Saffron
    • ½ teaspoon Green cardamom seeds powder

    Instructions 

    Blanching & Pureeing Almonds:

    • Take almonds in a bowl. Pour about a cup of hot boiling water. And let it soak the almonds for at least 5-15 minutes.
    • Drain all the water and start peeling the almonds. As we blanched the almonds it will be very easy to peel the skin off. It took me only 5 minutes.
    • Now take peeled almonds and milk in a blender. And grind it into a coarse puree. Don't make it smooth paste-like.

    Making Almond Halwa:

    • Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter) in a pan on LOW heat.
    • Once the ghee is hot, add pureed almonds. And cook it with stirring continuously till all the milk or moisture gets evaporated and it starts to leave the sides of the pan. It took me about 12 minutes.
    • Add saffron strands and sugar and mix.
    • Sugar will start to melt and halwa will become runny again. At this time add 1 tablespoon of ghee.
    • Keep stirring and cooking till it starts to leave sides of the pan and fat will ooze out. That time halwa is ready, turn off the gas heat.

    Notes

    How to make Almond halwa with almond flour?
    Make a paste from almond flour (almond meal) by mixing with milk and use that paste just like I have used coarsely ground almonds paste in the recipe. Keep in mind that texture and taste will be different than made traditionally.
    Can I use jaggery instead of sugar?
    Personally, I have not tried. But one of the readers has tried this badam halwa with jaggery and she says it works fine. You can read the comment below.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 250mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 1mg
    *Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 serving
    Did you make this recipe?Snap a pic, mention @spice.up.the.curry or tag #spiceupthecurry. I would love to see.

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    1. Neeta Shenoy

      November 07, 2021 at 2:27 pm

      Hi Kanan, another gem from your kitchen. Just made it and it tasted fantastic. Now need to see how our guests react to the flavor. 🙂 Question, you have cardamom powder in the ingredients list, however, it doesn't show up in the cooking instructions. Is it optional? I added it towards the last 5-8 minutes of cook time and it turned out ok - applied your sage advice from other recipes.5 stars

      Reply
      • Kanan Patel

        November 08, 2021 at 10:02 am

        Glad that it came out good.
        Oh yes, I forgot to mention in the instructions
        You did right by adding it towards the end of the cooking process.

        Reply
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    Kanan

    Hi, I'm Kanan Patel. I share easy, delicious vegetarian recipes (mostly Indian) and Eggless baking recipes that you can sure count on!

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