Soaked Almonds (Badam): How Many, Overnight Method and Badam Doodh

“Raat ko bhigo do, subah chheel ke khao.” Soak them at night, peel them in the morning. If you grew up in a desi home, you probably heard that sentence before you could spell almond.

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It came with a small steel katori on the kitchen counter, five or seven brown almonds sitting in water overnight, and a grandmother who checked whether you’d actually eaten them before school. Nobody explained why. So let’s do that now, along with how many, how long, and how to make badam doodh that tastes like the one from a good halwai rather than sweet chalky milk.

Why grandmothers soaked them in the first place

There are practical reasons and traditional ones, and they overlap.

The practical side is texture. A raw almond is hard and dry. Soaked for 8 hours, it swells slightly, turns crisp and juicy, and tastes milder and sweeter. For an old person with weak teeth or a small child, that’s a big difference. The brown skin is also slightly bitter and tannic, and once soaked it slides off with a gentle squeeze between thumb and finger.

The other practical point is that a soaked almond is easier to grind smooth. That’s why every badam doodh, badam halwa and korma paste in the subcontinent starts with soaking.

How many almonds, really?

This is where good intentions go wrong. Almonds are nutritious and also dense in calories. A handful turns into thirty very quickly.

In summer, many families stick to the lower number. In winter, they drift towards the higher one. That’s ritucharya, seasonal eating, in its plainest household form.

The overnight method, step by step

1. Count out 7 raw, unsalted almonds (about 9 to 10 g). Rinse them under the tap to remove dust.
2. Put them in a small glass or steel bowl and cover with 100 ml of room-temperature drinking water. They’ll absorb some, so use at least three times their volume.
3. Cover loosely and leave for 8 to 10 hours, overnight on the counter. In very hot weather (above about 32°C indoors), soak them in the fridge instead so they don’t turn sour.
4. In the morning, drain and throw the soaking water away. Don’t drink it; it’s full of the skin’s bitter tannins.
5. Pinch each almond at the fat end. The skin should slip off in one piece. If it resists, soak another hour or dip in hot water for 1 minute.
6. Eat them slowly, chewing well, ideally with breakfast rather than alone on an empty stomach if you’re prone to acidity.

Soaked almonds keep for 2 days in a covered box in the fridge. After that they go soft and can develop a sour smell. Make a fresh batch each night; it takes 20 seconds.

Badam doodh, made properly

There are two different drinks that get called almond milk. One is the South-Asian badam doodh: dairy milk thickened and flavoured with ground almonds, saffron and cardamom. The other is plant “almond milk”, where almonds and water are blended and strained. Here’s how to make both well.

Classic badam doodh (serves 2)

1. Soak 20 almonds (about 25 g) overnight in 150 ml water. Drain and peel.
2. Warm 2 tablespoons of milk and soak 8 to 10 strands of saffron in it for 15 minutes.
3. Grind the peeled almonds with 3 tablespoons of milk into a fine paste. A small spice grinder jar does this in about 40 seconds. Leave a few almonds chopped if you like some bite.
4. Bring 500 ml full-cream milk to a boil in a heavy pan, then lower the heat. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom, until slightly reduced.
5. Stir in the almond paste and cook another 5 minutes on low. It will thicken noticeably.
6. Add the saffron milk, the seeds of 2 crushed green cardamom pods and 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, or to taste.
7. Serve hot in winter. In summer, chill it for 3 hours and serve cold. Yield is about 400 ml.

The mistake most people make is adding almond powder straight into boiling milk. It clumps and tastes raw. The paste plus slow simmer is what gives that rich, slightly nutty body.

Plain almond milk (dairy-free, about 700 ml)

1. Soak 100 g almonds for 10 to 12 hours. Drain, rinse and peel if you want a whiter, smoother milk.
2. Blend with 750 ml fresh cold water on high for 90 seconds.
3. Strain through a nut-milk bag or doubled muslin, squeezing firmly.
4. Add a pinch of salt and, if you like, 2 soaked dates blended back in for sweetness.
5. Refrigerate in a glass bottle and use within 3 days. Shake before pouring; separation is normal.

The leftover pulp can be dried in a low oven at 90°C for about 2 hours and used in ladoo or chapati dough.

Buying almonds and spotting bad ones

Two main types are sold in Pakistani and Indian markets. Californian almonds are uniform, pale and sweet, and the most common in supermarkets. Mamra almonds, mostly from Iran and Afghanistan, are smaller, curved, wrinkled and noticeably oilier, and they cost several times more. Traditional homes prize mamra for soaking, though both work.

• Smell: a sharp, paint-like or bitter smell means rancid oil. Throw them out.
• Taste: a strongly bitter almond in a batch of sweet ones should be spat out. True bitter almonds contain compounds that release cyanide and should never be eaten raw.
• Look: check for tiny holes, webbing or powdery residue, all signs of insects.
• Fakes: cheap “mamra” sometimes turns out to be dyed or oiled apricot kernels. Real mamra has a boat shape and a distinct almond taste, not a sharp marzipan one.

Store almonds in an airtight glass jar away from the stove. In hot, humid months, keep bulk stock in the fridge; they’ll stay fresh for up to 6 months that way.

What soaking does and doesn’t do

You’ll read that soaking “activates” almonds or removes all their phytic acid. The honest answer is that soaking softens them, makes the skin easy to remove and may reduce some of the compounds in the skin, but the changes to the nut itself are modest. A soaked almond is not magic, and a dry almond isn’t bad for you. Many people just find soaked, peeled ones more pleasant and easier on the stomach.

Another popular idea is that almonds make children cleverer before exams. Almonds are a good whole food with healthy fats, protein, fibre and vitamin E. That’s worth something. Exam results still depend on sleep and study.

Safety, allergies and when to stop

Soaked almonds sit comfortably alongside other morning habits, like a spoon of soaked methi dana for those who like it, or a date or two. You’ll find the rest of our kitchen-tradition guides in Desi Remedies.