One of the popular sweet for Diwali; Badam Puri is super addictive and amazing to try at home in about 30 minutes.
Plus, these are flour-free, delicious, gluten-free, easy to make and loved by everyone.
Festive season calls for delicious sweets. Indian sweets are popularly made for celebrations like Rakhi, Diwali, Navratri and so on. Most of us are always looking out for easy, quick and yet delicious sweets.
This Instant Pot Gajar Halwa, Cranberry Coconut Truffles and Sooji Halwa are great to make for such celebrations. These are quick and easy and great for kids and adults alike.
Diwali is one of the most enthusiastically celebrated festival in the country. And when it comes to sweets for the celebration, there are some many delicious treats like laapsi that are made.
When I look back at my childhood, I definitely see the round cookies wrapped in golden cellophane paper; Badam Puri. These came home from the store throughout the year but the ones for Diwali were always special.
Jump to:
What is Badam Puri
An Indian sweet that is popular in some parts of the country, Badam Puri is like a cookie but made with pure almond meal. We do not add any flour or other binding agents to the mix.
These gluten-free cookies are like badam halwa in a cookie form. If you have seen them in the store, there are either piled and wrapped with cellophane paper or sold in boxes, studded with whole almonds and cashews.
A sweet that can easily be bought at a sweet store in India is a distant dream in the US. And so, I started making my one a few years ago. A few steps and we can easily have a stack of this delicious sweet to enjoy!
Why this recipe works
- It is super easy to make.
- The recipe is flour-less making it gluten-free too.
- We can easily make a big batch at once.
- The recipe involves two easy steps; cooking and broiling.
- Full of almond, these are perfect for kids and adults alike.
- This works perfectly with homemade almond meal or store bought.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Almond Meal: The prime ingredient in the recipe is almond meal. Make your own or use store bought meal. I like to use almond meal made from blanched almonds for smooth cookies.
- Sugar: The sweetener here is sugar. Both granular or cane sugar works. However, I have not tested the recipe for any other kind of sweetener.
- Saffron: The characteristic color for the recipe comes from the saffron. I like to lightly crush it in a mortar pestle to bring out their flavor and color. Soaking it in hot water before using is an option too.
- Cardamom: A fat pinch of ground cardamom makes the cookies amazing. Make sure the cardamom is ground fine to avoid chunks in the badam puri.
- Ghee: A little ghee helps bind all the ingredients together. Plus, it gives the badam puri a great gloss.
- Nuts: Slivered almonds and pistachios are great to top the badam puri with. However, this is optional and the same cookies can be made without the nuts too.
- Water: We add some water to melt the sugar so that it does not start to caramelize. But do not add extra water else it will take a long time for the mix to dry out.
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.
How to make this recipe
1- In a pan heat 1 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter.
2- Once it starts to melt; add 1 cup almond meal, 2 tablespoon water, ¾ teaspoon saffron and ¾ cup sugar.
3- Mix together and let it cook till the sugar starts to melt.
4- Then add in 1 teaspoon cardamom powder. Cook on medium flame for about 5 minutes in all; stirring frequently.
5- Once the mixture becomes pasty and the sugar melts, reduce flame to low. Continue to cook till the mixture becomes opaque and starts to leave the sides of the pan.
6- Once the mixture leaves the side, add the remaining ghee to the mixture.
7- Then mix well and transfer it to a lined tray or on a baking mat.
8- Once it cools down a little and can be handled with hands; start kneading the dough till smooth.
9- Then roll it into a round of about ¼ inch thickness. Add the nuts on top.
10- Roll it once to make sure they stick.
11- Use a cookie cutter to make small rounds. I used a 2 inch cookie cutter to make this.
12- Arrange the cookies in a baking tray. Set the oven to 'Broil' and Low.
13- Place the tray in the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes; till the brown spots appear on them. It only takes a couple of seconds to burn so keep an eye. Remove from oven, cool for 5-6 minutes and flip them over.
14- Broil for another 2-3 minutes and remove. Transfer to an airtight container and enjoy for up to 10 days.
Expert Tips and Notes
- Picking the right almond flour: I like to use store bought almond meal for the recipe. Plus, I get the one from blanched almonds or the fine one for smooth cookies. the same can be made at home too. However, processing whole almonds will give a little grainy texture.
- Thickness: Do not spread the mix too thin. If you do that, the cookies tend to burn quickly while broiling. Plus the sugar in thin cookies crystallizes quickly and makes the cookies hard.
- Cooking the mix: Do not over cook the almond sugar mix. Overcooking yields a dry mix that will fall apart while rolling or broiling. Only cook till the mix leaves the sides.
- Testing: Test the mix by adding a spoon of mix on a baking tray. If the mix can be cut into two parts cleanly, the mix is ready to be taken off the flame.
- Broiling: The most critical yet tricky step. We broil the puris for a characteristic brown color on top. Yet we do not want them to turn completely brown or burn. Remember that the sugar starts to melt in the broiler so wait a few minutes before touching or flipping them over to retain the shape well.
- Alternate Flour: The same recipe works with store bought or homemade cashew flour as well. In that case we get kaju puri, another popular Indian sweet.
Recipe FAQs
We make Badam Puri with almond meal, sugar, ghee and nuts. They combine wonderfully to give us perfect flour-less cookies.
These Badam Puri are naturally gluten-free but not Vegan. We use ghee in the recipe and so they are not Vegan. However, they can be made Vegan by using oil instead.
Yes certainly. These are perfect to make ahead of time and serve. To retain the freshness, refrigerate the cookies. However, this is not essential.
Overcooking the almond dough tends to make the dough super dry. And then the dough starts to fall apart. Add some water and cook till the mixture is back to the consistency that is spreadable and not very wet or dry.
Yes we do. That is the best way to get the signature brown spots on the badam puri.
More Sweet Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments whilst you are there, thanks!
Badam Puri
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almond Meal (store bought or home-made)
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Ghee
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
- ¾ teaspoon Saffron
- 2 tablespoon Pistachios (slivered)
- 2 tablespoon Almonds (slivered)
- 2-3 tablespoon Water
Instructions
- In a pan heat half the ghee.2 tablespoon Ghee
- Once it starts to melt; add these ingredients.1 cup Almond Meal, ¾ teaspoon Saffron, 2-3 tablespoon Water, ¾ cup Sugar
- Mix together and let it cook till the sugar starts to melt.
- Then add in cardamom powder. Cook on medium flame for about 5 minutes in all; stirring frequently.1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
- Once the mixture becomes pasty and the sugar melts, reduce flame to low. Continue to cook till the mixture becomes opaque.
- Once the mixture leaves the side, add the remaining ghee to the mixture.
- Then mix well so the ghee incorporates.
- Then transfer it to a lined tray or on a baking mat.
- Once it cools down a little and can be handled with hands; start kneading the dough till smooth.
- Then roll it into a round of about ¼ inch thickness. Add the nuts on top.2 tablespoon Pistachios, 2 tablespoon Almonds
- Roll it once to make sure they stick.
- Use a cookie cutter to make small rounds. I used a 2 inch cookie cutter to make this.
- Arrange the cookies in a baking tray. Set the oven to 'Broil' and Low.
- Place the tray in the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes; till the brown spots appear on them. It only takes a couple of seconds to burn so keep an eye. Remove from oven, cool for 5-6 minutes and flip them over.
- Broil for another 2-3 minutes and remove. Transfer to an airtight container and enjoy for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Picking the right almond flour: I like to use store bought almond meal for the recipe. Plus, I get the one from blanched almonds or the fine one for smooth cookies. the same can be made at home too. However, processing whole almonds will give a little grainy texture.
- Thickness: Do not spread the mix too thin. If you do that, the cookies tend to burn quickly while broiling. Plus the sugar in thin cookies crystallizes quickly and makes the cookies hard.
- Cooking the mix: Do not over cook the almond sugar mix. Overcooking yields a dry mix that will fall apart while rolling or broiling. Only cook till the mix leaves the sides.
- Testing: Test the mix by adding a spoon of mix on a baking tray. If the mix can be cut into two parts cleanly, the mix is ready to be taken off the flame.
- Broiling: The most critical yet tricky step. We broil the puris for a characteristic brown color on top. Yet we do not want them to turn completely brown or burn. Remember that the sugar starts to melt in the broiler so wait a few minutes before touching or flipping them over to retain the shape well.
- Alternate Flour: The same recipe works with cashew flour as well. In that case we get kaju puri, another popular Indian sweet.
Leave a Reply