Almonds

Almonds, badam in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi, are prized across South Asia. Many families soak a few almonds overnight, peel them in the morning and eat them before breakfast, a habit handed down by grandparents. In cooking, almonds are ground into a paste to thicken shahi korma, badam halwa and badam kheer, blended into badam milk with saffron and cardamom, and sliced thin over pulao, firni and falooda.

Choose by the job. Whole almonds suit soaking, snacking, gifting and making your own paste, and jumbo grades are the ones to put in a dry fruit box at Diwali or Eid. Flaked almonds are sliced thin for garnish and baking, and they toast in a minute in a dry pan. Ground almonds, also called almond flour, save a step when making badam burfi, macarons, frangipane and gluten free cakes, and they stir straight into a korma sauce.

To blanch whole almonds, pour boiling water over them, leave for a minute, then drain and squeeze each one so the skin slips off. Keep ground almonds in the fridge or freezer once opened, as the finer the nut, the faster it loses freshness. Almonds sit under nuts with cashew nuts and pistachios, and for badam milk pair them with cardamom.