Almond Butter Tips

Last night I made another batch of homemade almond butter. I discovered a few tips about getting the creamiest texture. Lately, my almond butter would reach the creamy stage, then turn hard over the next few days.

I’ve discovered that I wasn’t processing the almond butter long enough for the amount I was making. If making a larger batch, it will need to process longer than the recommended 12 minutes. It’s also good to keep in mind that if the food processor is too full, there won’t be enough room for the almonds to grind.

I made about a week’s worth and processed it a little longer, until the almonds were extra creamy, about 25 minutes. I just turned on the food processor and forgot about it for a while. I have stopped adding anything, such as honey, agave or salt. The salt can be over powering if you’re not careful and the liquid in the honey or agave can make the butter seize up if it’s not creamy.

So if you want to make larger amounts of almond butter, try dividing it up into a couple of batches, that way the almonds will have enough room to grind.

In the meantime, I’ve also been practicing dosas (Indian style crepes).

During our Diwali trip to India this year I got to go to a banquet where I saw a fantastic dosa maker and thought, “I’ve got to try that!”

It’s pretty tricky and not easy for a dosa beginner such as myself. Hubby tells me “they look dosa-ish“.

Has anybody got tips on making great dosas?

Related posts:

  1. Almond Butter (homemade!)
  2. Baker’s Tricks: How to soften butter quickly

8 Comments

  1. 5-20-2012
    Priya Sreeram says:

    loved the almond butter tutorial- this post on tips is a sure help. for making great dosas I assume you are using parboiled rice for the batter ; adding fenugreek seeds while grinding adds taste. Also grinding urad dal first (to a smooth batter) and then adding the rice is a good tip for fermenting the batter well. Further the cast iron skillet you use needs to be seasoned well. You can tip in a few drops of sesame oil on the skillet and on a low flame spread it across with a thick slice of onion. Besides adding flavour to the dosas made, the well greased pan with onion will ensure dosas don’t stick to the pan. Ofcourse the pan needs to be hot enough before pouring the batter. In case you are using a non stick pan, ensure its hot and lightly season it like an iron cast skillet. Hope it helps.

    Reply
    • 5-20-2012
      Colleen says:

      Hi Priya – That’s a great help. Should the pan be smoking hot (where the oil on the pan starts to smoke) or is that too hot?

      Reply
  2. 5-20-2012
    Surya says:

    Dosa/idli Batter.

    1c Urad (white)
    1cup rice
    1/4 cup of boiled rice

    Wash and Soak Urad and Rice for about 8 hrs
    Grind it adding little water
    Once its done add boiled rice and grind for 1 minute.
    Transfer the batter to a large bowl and close tightly and keep it aside to ferment overnight.
    In the morning add required amount of salt . Stir in and make dosa.

    Note. Use the same batter for idli too. Only difference is add 1 1/2 cup of boiled rice.

    Reply
    • 5-20-2012
      Colleen says:

      Wonderful! Thank you Surya. How do you know how much water to add? Also, any tricks for when cooking the dosa and spreading the dosa thin without it clumping up?

      Reply
  3. 5-20-2012
    Jess says:

    Ok, listen to this. I just made two batches of almond butter this week and last weekend I made French crepes. Not Indian crepes, but you get the idea. Are we craving the same foods or what?!?!?

    Thanks for the almond butter tips. I blend mine from 12-15 minutes…usually before the poor food processor starts smoking. Just kidding – but it does get hot from working so hard. I don’t add anything to my almond butter usually, but I added a tiny bit (about 1/2 teaspoon) of flax oil this last time and it was good.

    Reply
    • 5-20-2012
      Colleen says:

      ha! I guess we are craving the same thing. The food processor does get really hot when I make almond butter, I guess that’s normal…hopefully.

      Reply
  4. 5-21-2012
    Surya says:

    Add water enough to make it ‘thick and runny’. Not too runny like juice or pancake batter, but thicker.
    While spreading and making dosa there are few tricks, south Indians do.

    1. to adjust the heat sprinkle/spray little water before pouring your batter. Once the water is evaporated pour the batter immediately.
    2. Don’t pour too much batter, if you want to make thin dosa.
    3. To avoid being clumpy, always start spreading from the middle to outwards. Don’t go back to correct an error.
    4. If you miss a portion while spreading and resulting in a hole in dosa correct it only after finished spreading. Pour ‘drops’ of batter and spread it, so it wont look lumpy.
    5.Frothy top layer of dosa batter gives a soft yet crispy ghee roast.

    Another imp thing I forgot to ask, what are you using to make dosa?. A usual non-stick pan or cast iron pan.

    Reply
    • 5-21-2012
      Colleen says:

      I use a tawa.
      Thanks for the great tips!

      Reply

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