Sunday, October 18, 2015

Posted by Mala at 2:30:00 AM 1 comment
                                                  NAVARATHRI - DAY 6 (She is called Bhairavi)

Badam Kheer.....is an all time favourite of my family. But again, for this, the texture should be perfect...Nowadays, many serve Badam Kheer with store bought badam powders......I am proud to say, I have never ever done it so far......Had lot of visitors today...for a minute, my mind was trying to coax me to use store-bought...I firmly said 'no'! I said, all these years, I have made kheer at home, for we humans to consume....and now, as Neivedhyam for the Goddess...how can I use the store bought?? That's not fair, right??
Almonds / Badams are soo versatile...they can be used in kheers, halwa, and also for North indian gravies...they are so delicately flavoured..they lower heart disease and cholesterol. Nowadays, I have seen many munching handful of almonds, when they are hungry, instead of eating some junk food.Lot of Vitamin D is found in almonds, also present are magnesium and potassium. When there is adequate magnesium around, then our arteries breathe a sigh of relief, since there are less possibilities of getting blocked.Almonds reduce the risk of diabetes, improve blood fats, and we all know, healthy fats help us to shed unwanted weight.A very good source of Manganese, Copper and Riboflavin, help prevent gall stones...on the whole, go nuts ..........and have lot of this wonderful NUTS.
This delicate Badam Kheer is a naturally coloured one..derived from the saffron...I do not use artificial food colours, since they are harmful to health.



Ingredients

Almonds - 1 1/2 cups, soaked for 5-6 hours  in boiling hot water
Milk - 12 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Saffron - 1/2 tsp, soaked in warm milk

Recipe Cuisine: Indian; Category: Cold beverages/desserts/welcome drink
Prep time: soaking : 5-6 hrs; 15 mts; Cooking time: 20mts;

Yields 25-30 cups

Before peeling the badams, you can give a quick heating in microwave for 1 minute. This way, the peels come off easily.


Peeled almonds...saffron soaked in warm  4 tbsps milk


              Grind the peeled almonds, without adding any milk. It has to be be like fine rava texture. Don't over grind it, this makes the Badam kheer sort of gooey.



                                             Put this ground almond mixture in a pan

There will be some sticking on to the blender.....


Add some milk, clean scrape and add.


Add  the saffron soaked milk too


In the meantime, boil the milk, allow it to cool down. I kept in a wide pan of water, I was in a hurry to refrigerate this kheer.

Add cardamom powder too to the ground almond mixture, also add 1 cup of milk from the boiled and cooling down milk.


Keep on lowest flame, keep stirring continuously. After 5 minutes, add sugar, and keep on stirring, till the mixture becomes frothy and all the raw smell of the almonds has vanished.


Amazing!!! Look at the natural,  delicate colour it has derived!! Switch off now.


Add it to the milk which is cooling down and mix well. To get this frothy, creamy look, you know what I did!!! I just poured it from one vessel to another, pouring from a height, imagining myself to be a tea vendor!!!




                                   Chill after the kheer cools down completely.

Served


                                 
                             This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com
                                                                   Notes
                                                 * Saffron milk can be added while the milk is boiling, and after it has reduced nicely, you can add in the ground badam mixture, and after the raw smell goes, can add sugar also.
* The above mentioned method of cooling the milk and later adding separately badam and suagr mixture depends on how soon you want the kheer to be ready.



1 comments:

  1. The queen of Kheers, looks Royal and rich.The nuiances of making a perfect baadam kheer is well Illustrated .I can almost smell the aroma of almonds drifting through the well taken pictures.

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