Talking about superfoods here.
Almonds.
Nuts which have been part of our diet since eternity. The most wholesome and healthy offering of a fruit tree.
An offering of good health that you can now get from Nuts.com in India.The best quality of almonds available to man,now delivered right to your doorstep.
I begin my day with 5 soaked almonds and a glass of warm water. I know that almonds are a power house of goodness.
They are nutrient rich- if you talk of micro and macro nutrients,fibre rich -can stave off hunger pangs without adding too many calories.They reduce cholesterol and can assist in reducing blood sugar. So even diabetics can enjoy a handful of almonds.
They are rich in antioxidants and bit E to assist your skin creams.
Almonds are increasingly effective in reducing hunger and help in weight loss.
You need more reasons?
I use almonds regularly in my offerings to God.Almonds are little packets of wonder. And their purity is best used in making Prashad.A sweet made with love for the center of our spiritual belief system.Karah or Kada Prashad
Karah prashad is a halwa that is made as an offering to the Guru in Sikh gurudwaras. A halwa is a dish made with flour cooked in clarified butter and sugar and water.
You cant have lived in Punjab and not been blessed by the karah prashad.
goldentemple.org
You need to remember that a small amount of karah or kada prashada has too many calories to count and too much cholesterol to dream off.So it is important to have a little. That's why ,prashada is just about a spoonful.
And when you add a few almonds to the karah while making it, you are giving yourself a little gift.
The monsoon season and a lazy Sunday morning declared the need for Karah Prashada. I try and use the barest minimum of clarified butter or desi ghee possible. But remember,it's always equal quantities.So if you use 1/2 cup of ghee then the same amount of sugar and flour.Only triple the water.
We like playing some spiritual music while making prashada.
For the
Karah Prashada with Almonds...
You need
1/2 cup whole wheat flour-the best karah is made with coarsely ground wheat flour1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup clarified butter or desi ghee1 1/2 Cup water10-15 soaked almonds soaked and peeled and sliced
Warm the ghee in a large wok.Add in the flour.And keep stirring . This requires a lot of muscle power,and is good exercise. You will have burnt away half the calories you eat ,by the time you make the karah prashada.
I like to add my almonds at this stage. When the flour has turned the color of light honey.You should add the sugar here. But I had Santa's helpers and we ended up making a sugar syrup.
If you add the right amount of ghee, by now the flour would have cooked and the ghee would have left the flour.
Now add the sugar syrup and keep stirring...keep stirring...Get the drift?
Keep stirring well,because you don't want any lumps.
And stir until you see the halwa come together into a homogeneous mix.By now your kitchen would be full of the aromas of the Gurudwara or the Sikh temple and of paranthas and beautiful memories.
Dish out into a bowl and make the first offering to the guru.A Wonderful way to acknowledge your maker with an offering of love.And purity.Of almonds.
So what are you making today???
