In one bowl, warm 1/2 a cup of milk, and add saffron to it.Keep aside.
Once the soaked almonds are ready and peeled, grind them with 1/2 cup milk to make a paste.
Now add ghee in a thick bottomed pan, and cook almond paste in it ,on slow heat for 15-20 minutes. You will know the almond paste is cooked, when the ghee is all absorbed, and the paste starts to reduce and thicken. It sticks to the spatula, leaving the pan. Keep stirring the paste, so that it does not burn or stick to the bottom.
Once the almonds paste is cooked, add saffron milk.Stir the paste and the milk nicely.
Add rest of the milk, and let it simmer on slow heat for almost 20-30 minutes. Do not forget to stir at regular intervals, and scrape off the milk of the sides and bottom of the pan, and mix well. You will have to keep doing this till the milk is reduced to more than half of the qty. It becomes really creamy and thicker in consistency, in the end.
Now add the cream /malai, cardamom powder and mix well. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
Add chopped almonds (optional), and sugar at last, and bring to a boil whilst stirring, and scraping milk off sides
Turn off the heat. put it in a bowl. Garnish with chopped almonds, rose petals and saffron starnds. Serve hot or chilled