A warming almond drink

Badam doodh (almond milk) is a popular Indian drink where almonds are blended with milk and flavored with saffron and cardamom. Prepared the traditional way, it’s made with whole cow milk and quite a lot of sugar, which makes it not only rich in texture, but for sure also in calories.

In India, people often drink the almond milk at festivals and celebrations. It can be served warm in the winter, as well as cold in summer. This plant based version is full of nutrients and is a great energy booster, especially if you used fortified almond milk.

WHAT YOU NEED [serves 2]

• 3 cups Almond Milk

• 1 tsp saffron

• 1/2 cup Almonds, blanched

• 2 tbsp sugar, or to taste

• optional: pinch of turmeric for deeper yellow colour

WHAT YOU DO

• Blanch almonds, remove skin and grind into a fine paste.

• Soak the saffron in 2 tbsp almond milk for minimum 30 mins (keep few strands of saffron aside as topping). To get deeper yellow color, refrigerate for some time.

• Boil 3 cups of almond milk in a pan and let the milk thicken to about 2 cups.

• Add sugar and stir till all sugar dissolved. Add almond paste and mix well.

• Once the milk is creamy, add soaked saffron and give a quick boil again.

• Pour in two cups and garnish with few more saffron strands.

• Serve hot or chill in refrigerator before serving.