September 3, 2010

Semolina and Almond Halwa

This delicious dessert redolent of cardamom and saffron is a huge favorite with my girls. The warm aroma of the roasting semolina and the cardamom in ghee quickly draws them to the kitchen and they wait with their hands on their hips with the continuous sing song “Is it done yet?…”

Halwa, as it is popularly known in the the Indian subcontinent (mostly in the Northern, Western and Eastern part of India), refers to a sweet confection made with semolina (or nuts or vegetables), sugar, and ghee and garnished with nuts.

Halwa goes by different names in different regions of India (alwa, alva, aluva to name a few). The halwa is also referred to as kesari or kesaribhaat in certain regions of India. Various types of halwa from India are distinguished by the region and the ingredients from which they are made. The Semolina and Almond Halwa I have made here is a deviation from the traditional; there is not a bit of nut powder used with semolina in the original ones. But this is the way I have been doing it for the longest time and this is how my family loves it.

While it is a common dessert in India, halwa is not just contained in the Indian subcontinent. Across the world almost every culture and country has claimed it to be its own. It is a widespread across Central and West Asia, Mediterranean Regions, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Balkans and the Jewish world and goes by different names as halva, halawa, haleweh, ħelwa, halvah, halava, helava, helva, halwa, aluva, chałwa…..(Wiki).

There are many faces of Halwa. Halwa in the Indian Subcontinent are made from semolina, wheat flour, white poppy seeds, chickpea flour, lentil flour and also from different fruits, nuts and vegetables like carrots, bananas, and bottle gourd. The most popular and the easiest one is the sooji/rawa or the semolina halwa.

A favorite way to eat semolina halwa in the northern regions of India is to eat with Poori – a deep fried puffed bread. Other than just being a kind of dessert, Halwa forms an integral part of the religious ceremonies and are usually served after the prayer is over, as a part of the “prasad” or food offered to God. It can be quickly made, and it a convenient dessert to make for a crowd as it does not involve any pre-cooking procedures .( I was amazed how contrary cultures can be across the world, for in Turkey the semolina halwa is generally served when someone dies.)

A few things to note:

In India, the semolina halwa is not made the way I have done here. No almond flour is used and it is made solely with semolina along with sugar, ghee, saffron, cardamom and nuts. I started adding the almond meal simply to increase the nutrition value and of course the flavor of almond is amazing in about anything it is added to. If you are reluctant to use the almond flour, use only semolina.
Do not skimp on the ghee. The texture and taste will not be right without enough ghee.
Add the sugar towards the end of the cooking process or the semolina will not cook well.
The halwa should be just soft enough and kind of sticky enough to hold on together to be shaped into a mold, but should not be gooey, runny and overcooked.
Most of the times raisins are used in this halwa; I have not used it here since no one in the family likes it. The use of the kind of nuts varies from one region to another. While the northern regions use almond and pistachios, the halwa in the southern regions of India usually contains cashews.