Badam Katli / Barfi and Happy Diwali!
By: Veggi Fare
Published: Friday, November 5, 2010 - 4:35am

Ingredients




1 1/2 cups almonds, preferably no bitter almonds
1 1/4 cups sugar (you may increase it to 1 ½ cup if you want it extra sweet)
20 strands of saffron (optional)
edible silver foil (warq), optional

Preparation

1 Soak the almonds in water overnight. 2 Remove the almonds from the water. Add some boiling water to cover the almonds. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep for 10 minutes. 3 Drain the water and peel the almonds. The hot water makes the peeling much easier. 4 Using a little water, make a fine paste in a mixer. Use as little water as possible - the more water you use, the longer the cooking time 5 Empty the paste in a heavy bottomed non-stick pan, add the sugar and mix. 6 Place the pan on a high flame, and cook, stirring continously, until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. 7 Add the strands of saffron at this stage and cook further until the mixture forms a lump. 8 Transfer it to a tray and let it cool. 9 Using a rolling pin, roll out the almond dough to the desired thickness (I used a thickness of approximately 0.6 centimeters, although anything up to 1.5 cm should be ok) and cut with the help of a cookie cutter. 10 Carefully put the edible silver foil, if available, on the barfi and gently press the foil onto the barfi with a piece or ball of cotton wool. 11 Tastes completely awsome when still warm, but keeps for upto a week in an airtight container.

About


Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali - the Inidan festival of light. Hope this festival brings loads of luck, love and laughter. 
Sweets and festivals always go hand in hand and that certainly brings a smile to my face. I try and make traditional indian sweets and food on festivals. It makes the day special and I don't miss my loved ones back home too much. 
Badam katli or Badam Barfi is a sweet made out of almonds. It resembles very much the European marzipan, the main difference being that the indian version is without the bitter almonds.
This sweet is a must during Diwali at our place. My mother in law has been making this for years and I learned this recipe from her and ever-since, I have been making this on Diwali too.
The traditional Indian version would normally be without saffron and have a diamond shape. I didn't use the traditional diamond shape but rather cut the barfi pieces with a cookie cutter. Whatever the shape, the taste is just exceptional. Hope you like them too :-)