One Hot Summer Day: Beat the Chennai-like Heat With This Cool Badam Kheer Drink

Badam Kheer (Almond Kheer), is a scrumptious, creamy drink that’s popularly served during Indian celebrations and festive occasions. This dessert is one of my favorites and my mother used to make it often as a treat during the hot summer days in Chennai, India where I grew up.

‘Badam’ means almonds in Hindi and ‘Kheer’ is an Indian milk pudding. It is made by simmering whole milk, to which almond paste is added. Then it is sweetened by adding sugar and further simmered. Lastly, cardamom powder is added to give flavor and a few strands of saffron are added to give a vibrant yellow color to this rich dessert. 

Before moving on to the recipe of Almond Kheer, I wanted to share some health benefits specific to the Almond. Almonds contain fiber, lots of healthy fats, magnesium, Vitamin E, and protein. They are loaded with antioxidants, assist with blood sugar control, lower cholesterol levels, reduce blood pressure, reduce hunger, and promote weight loss. 

Ingredients:

Whole milk – 4 cups

Whole milk – ½ cup for blending the almonds 

Sugar – ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (add extra as wanted)

Almonds – ½ cup 

Saffron – ¼ teaspoon (soak saffron in 2 tablespoons of warm milk)

Cardamom powder – ¼ teaspoon 

Slivered almonds for garnishing (optional)

Method:

• To a heavy bottom/non-stick pan, pour 4 cups of whole milk and allow it to boil. 
• Reduce the flame to low and let the milk simmer for 15 minutes, after which you will see a layer of cream forming.

Note: Stirring the milk consistently is very important. This prevents the cream from getting scorched at the bottom. 

• Next, add the almond paste and sugar (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) to the milk and stir it well (approximately 3-4 minutes).

To make the Almond Paste:

In a bowl, soak ½ cup of almonds in 1 cup of boiling hot water for 1-2 hours. Peel the skin off the soaked almonds and add them to a blender along with ½ cup of whole milk to make a fine paste. 

Note: Soaking the almonds in hot water helps in speeding the peeling process and makes blending easier. 

• Then, add cardamom powder to give flavor and ¼ tsp of saffron soaked in warm milk to give a vibrant yellow color to this dessert. 
• When the milk reaches the desired consistency, turn off the heat.
• Garnish the Badam Kheer with slivered almonds (optional)
• Finally, serve the Badam Kheer after cooling it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours before serving.  

I hope you all try making this delicious dessert on a hot summer day and enjoy the joy of cooking!

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Jayashree Krishnan is an educator and founder of the custom bakery “Jay’s Creations” based in Dallas, Texas. She has written recipes for Indian desserts in magazines published in the United States.