Ingredients
Almond paste
- 1 cup (150g) raw almonds
- ¼ cup whole milk (for grinding)
Halwa
- 4 tbsp ghee
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- Pinch of saffron strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
Garnish
- 1 tbsp slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp slivered pistachios
Instructions
Soak and blanch the almonds
- Soak almonds in cold water overnight, or for at least 6–8 hours. They will swell and soften.
- Drain. Pour boiling water over the almonds and let them sit for 10 minutes — the skins will loosen. Drain again and peel: the skins slip off easily when pinched. Pat dry.
- Transfer peeled almonds to a blender. Add ¼ cup milk and grind to a completely smooth paste. Stop and scrape down the sides several times. There should be no graininess — any texture at this stage will remain throughout cooking.
Fry the paste
- Heat ghee in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
- Add the almond paste to the hot ghee. It will spit initially — stand back briefly.
- Stir well to coat the paste with ghee. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for 12–15 minutes. The paste will go through several stages:
- First it looks wet and pale — keep stirring.
- Around 8 minutes it will begin to dry out and turn slightly golden at the edges.
- At 12–15 minutes it will be golden, fragrant, and the ghee will start to separate visibly at the edges. It should smell nutty and toasted — similar to marzipan but cooked.
- Taste a small amount: it should taste fully cooked and nutty, not raw or pasty.
Add sugar and milk
- Reduce heat to low. Add sugar, milk, saffron milk, and cardamom. The mixture will sizzle and loosen significantly.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5–7 minutes. The liquid will absorb and the halwa will thicken and pull away from the sides of the pan. When it moves as a mass and the ghee glistens on the surface, it's done.
Finish
- Pour into a greased plate or individual bowls and smooth the top. Garnish with slivered almonds and pistachios while still warm.
- Serve warm, or allow to cool slightly — it firms into a sliceable consistency at room temperature.
Storage
- Fridge: Up to 1 week. Very dense — it sets firmly when cold and can be sliced into clean portions straight from the fridge. Reheat in a pan with a teaspoon of ghee over low heat, or eat at room temperature.
- Freeze: Freezes well for up to 3 months. The density means it freezes in neat, well-defined portions. Thaw in the fridge.
Variations
- Condensed milk version: Replace the ½ cup milk with 3 tbsp condensed milk and reduce sugar to ⅓ cup. Richer and creamier; slightly more forgiving since the extra sugar and fat help prevent sticking.
- Pistachio halwa: Exact same method using blanched pistachios instead of almonds. Soak and peel pistachios the same way (the skin is thinner and comes off easily). The halwa is a pale green color, even more aromatic, and considered even more luxurious. Increase saffron slightly to complement the pistachio flavor.
- Kesar badam halwa: Increase saffron to a generous pinch and add a small drop of food-grade yellow food coloring for the deep golden color seen in many sweet shops. The flavor is otherwise the same.
Notes
- The overnight soak is important — inadequately soaked almonds grind unevenly and leave a gritty texture in the paste that won't cook out.
- Completely smooth paste is the most important preparation step. Use a high-powered blender and be patient. If the paste still feels grainy after blending, grind again with a tablespoon more milk.
- Almond paste burns faster than moong dal paste. The cooking window between properly cooked and scorched is about 2–3 minutes — once it smells nutty and toasted and the ghee separates, move quickly to the next step.
- This halwa is very rich. Standard portion sizes at Indian sweet shops are about 100–150g. Serving sizes here reflect that — 8 small portions from 150g almonds is the right amount.
Added Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026