Title: Badam Soukhte (Burnt Almonds)
Categories: Dessert Candy Jewish Sephardic Persian
Yield: 2 Cups

1	c	Whole almonds, do not blanch
1	c	Sugar
1/4	ts	Ground cardamom
2	tb	Pistachio nuts, shelled & fine-chopped (opt)

These habit-forming sweets are a speciality of the Passover season but they are good any time. They may be served w/tea or coffee or any time after dining.

1. Put almonds in dry skillet & toast over low heat for abt 10 mins, or until skin changes to deep brown. Turn almond over individually if neces- sary to toast them uniformly since flavor is based on "burning." Set aside.

2. Caramelize sugar in a skillet over low heat for abt 10 mins, or until it is completely dissolved. Do not overcook. Add almonds and cardamom to sugar & rapidly stir them in w/wooden spoon. Keep the skillet over very low heat or place a heat dispersal pad over gas or electric element.

3. On flat piece of aluminum foil quickly spoon out a heaping teaspoon of syrup mixture w/2 almonds. Sprinkle a few fragments of pistachio over all, if desired. This entire procedure must be done quickly so that caramel does not harden in skillet. These should be made on dry, cool days.

Cool well. Remove sweets from foil & store in a jar or a tin w/tight cover. Makes abt 2 cups.

Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in Exotic Sephardic Kitchens from Morocco to India -- Copyright 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. D. Pileggi

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