Dairy-Free Strawberry Dalia Bowl; Make Almond Milk From Scratch

Alternative plant-based ‘milks’ have been the fad of our generation. Whether you adopt a vegan diet or are consciously cutting down the consumption of dairy, alternative milks like oat, almond and soy have taken over many a coffee shop and wellness café menus, with the hope of selling the promise of a healthy lifestyle. While there are plenty of options to choose from in a supermarket as you search for a good quality almond milk, making your own with a simple process is much more nutritious.

Nut-milk of any kind is delicious as much as it is nutritious in vitamin E and a healthy supply of polysaturated fats. Besides these milks being beneficial to those who are health conscious, the thickeners, emulsifiers and stabilizers used in processed plant milks deteriorate the ratio of nutrition one must ideally obtain from a single serving of milk from a tetra pack. Of course, there is no denying the convenience that processed options allow but nothing quite beats the 10-20% additional nutrition you could obtain from a single serving of almond milk strained at home versus drinking half a gallon from the packaged option to get the same amount of nourishment. Besides, homemade almond milk can be made in small batches and used up in other delicious things, other than coffee; like this oatmeal spin-off made using strawberries in season and dalia.

Recipe:

Ingredients (for almond milk):

• 1 cup almonds
• 1.5 cups water

Ingredients (for strawberry-dalia bowl):

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• 1 cup cooked dalia
• 12-14 fresh strawberries
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon chopped nuts
• 2 strawberries, halved

Method:

• Soak the almonds overnight in two cups of water. Strain them, discard the water and peel each almond. Add the peeled almonds along with the 1.5 cups of water to a blender jar and grind until smooth. Strain into a bowl lined with a cloth and squeeze the cloth until all the liquid has been extracted. Add another half cup of water to this strained liquid for a diluted version of almond milk.
• Cut the fresh strawberries in half and add them to the blender jar along with the almond milk, cinnamon, cardamom, sugar and vanilla extract. Blend into a thick liquid that resembles milkshake.
• Add this ‘milkshake’ to the waiting bowl of cooked dalia and allow it to sit in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. Garnish with chopped dry fruits, more strawberries and edible flowers (optional).