Almond is one of the most versatile nut in the families of nuts. Many Indian kids eat almonds (soaked overnite) every morning to increase their brain power (however I am yet to find any scientific study behind that until then I would assume that its a strategy used by parents to make the kids eat almonds). Anyways, other than their brain enhancing powers, I like almond (Badam) Burfi and badam halwa which are common desserts in India. Marzipan is probably the counterpart of badam halwa in Europe and US wherein its used in chocolates, tarts, cake decorations and what not!
My most recent learning about almonds is Almond Butter which is probably the simplest butter recipe of all time only if you have a good grinder (please note - Not a blender) otherwise it may lead to undesirable results.
Yield: ~ 3/4 cup almond butter
- Roast one cup almonds in oven at 300 F for ten minutes
- Put almonds in the grinder, add 1/4 tsp sea salt and grind for a while (approximately 5-10 mins depending upon the power of your grinder) with occasional stirring of the ingredients with spatula to avoid them from sticking on to the walls of the grinder
- Soon you will notice that almond mixture leaves oil and the mixture will transition from a dry fine mixture (also called almond meal) to a paste looking consistency which is essentially the almond butter
- Enjoy it on toasts, scones, sandwiches etc...
The classic butter making phenomenon doesn't end here:) Extend this for pecan, walnut, pine nut, and cashew butter and of course don't forget the classic peanut butter. Also, feel free to mix two or more nuts to a get a fusion nut butter.
2 comments:
Anjana, I can see that your photography skills are growing by leaps and bounds :)
Thanks I.:) I feel my photography skills are inversely proportional to the time in preparing a dish!
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