Badam Kheer (Creamed Almonds)

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Kheer (Photo by Sarah Maternini/flickr)

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 litre/2 pints/4 cups milk
300 ml/10 fl oz cream
1 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter
100 g/31/2 oz/1 cup flaked almonds
125 g/4 oz/1/2 cup sugar
pinch saffron strands
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
flaked almonds for garnish

Directions

In a heavy saucepan combine milk, cream and ghee and bring to the boil,
stirring constantly. Turn heat very low, add almonds and sugar and stir
till sugar dissolves.

Simmer for 20 minutes or until the mixture reduces and is as thick as a
custard, during which time only an occasional stir is necessary.

In a small pan toast the saffron strands for 1 minute over medium heat, until they just dry out. Make sure they don't blacken.

Turn the saffron at once onto a saucer and leave to cool and crisp,
then crush with the back of a spoon. Dissolve in a tablespoon of
boiling water and stir into the almond mixture together with the ground
cardamom.

Pour into individual dishes or one serving dish, cool and chill. Garnish with extra flaked almonds before serving.

Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)