Badam Kheer
A pale-gold almond pudding, scented with saffron and cardamom and finished with slivered pistachios. The kind of dessert that's spooned warm into small bowls on Diwali night, or chilled for a hot afternoon. Both work; both are right.
Overview
Almonds blanched, peeled, ground to a smooth paste, then folded into milk that's been reduced to two-thirds of its volume. Sugar to taste, saffron bloomed in warm milk for the colour, cardamom for the warmth. Simmered gently - never boiled - until the consistency thickens to a pourable cream, then garnished with pistachio slivers and a drift of rose petals.
Ingredients
The kheer
- 100 g almonds
- 1 litre whole milk
- 100 g caster sugar (or to taste)
- A pinch of saffron threads
- 1 tablespoon warm milk (to bloom the saffron)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)
To finish
- 2 tablespoons pistachios (slivered)
- 1 teaspoon dried rose petals (optional)
- A few extra saffron threads
Method
Stage 1 - Blanch and peel the almonds
- Bring a small pan of water to the boil and add the almonds. Boil for 60 seconds, drain into a sieve, then run cold water over them. The skins should now peel off with a gentle squeeze; pop each almond out of its skin between thumb and forefinger.
- Pat the peeled almonds dry.
Stage 2 - Grind to a paste
- Tip the almonds into a small blender or spice grinder. Add 4 tablespoons of milk taken from the litre measured out for the kheer.
- Blitz for 60-90 seconds, scraping down twice, until you have a smooth, pale paste - the texture of single cream with very fine grain. Set aside.
Stage 3 - Reduce the milk
- Bloom the saffron: crush the threads between your fingers into a small cup and pour over the warm milk. Leave to steep for 10 minutes.
- Pour the remaining milk into a heavy, wide pan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. From here you want it bubbling lazily around the edges, never a rolling boil.
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes and scraping the bottom and sides with a wooden spoon (the milk caramelises onto the pan otherwise). The volume should reduce by about a third and the colour should deepen to a faint cream.
Stage 4 - Combine and finish
- Stir in the almond paste; the kheer will thicken visibly. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Add the sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go - almond pastes vary in sweetness and a more lightly-sweetened kheer is closer to the traditional taste.
- Pour in the saffron milk and stir; the kheer should take on a pale gold colour.
- Add the cardamom and rose water (if using). Stir once and remove from the heat.
- Pour into 6 small bowls. Scatter pistachios, rose petals and a few saffron threads over the top.
Notes
- Don't boil the kheer hard after adding the almond paste - it can split or seize. Gentle simmer only.
- For a richer, more festive version, fold in 2 tablespoons of khoya (milk solids) along with the almond paste. Adds depth at the cost of an extra trip to the Indian grocer.
- If you have a high-speed blender, you can skip the almond-grinding step and blitz everything together in one go at the end. The texture is slightly less refined.
Serving
Hot from the pan into shallow bowls on Diwali night. Equally good chilled the next day, with a thinner pour of cream over the top.
Storage
Refrigerated, up to 3 days. It will thicken further - loosen with a splash of milk when reheating.
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