Halwa – The Secret Ingredient

Easy Recipe

Attey Ka Halwa | Whole Wheat Flour Halwa | Kadda Prashad

By anshu April 9, 2015

Attey Ka Halwa is a dense pudding made with whole wheat flour and clarified butter or ghee. And when this same halwa is made by Gurudwaras, Sikh Temple as an offering it becomes pious and is known as Kaddha Prasad or Babaji ka Prasad. Its offered to devotees at all Sikh Gurudwaras across the globe. It is deliciously sinful but also very easy to make. Its laden with ghee and has a lot of calories but once in a while its okay to indulge in it. Right? 😛 Like any halwa it requires the right proportion of ingredients and gets ready in no time. It is also known as degh, tribhavli for equal measures of sugar, flour and ghee.

My mother has always made Sooji ka Halwa but I never had Attey ka Halwa at home except Gurudwaras. I got this authentic recipe from a friend, Sonu Mahajan whom I met on a food group on FB. We have never met in real life and talked once on phone but I feel I have some relation with her , may be prior birth :). Whenever I talk to her on web I feel she is my sister from another Mother. I thank Almighty for making us friends and for the bond we share. This post goes out to you Sonu! Love you Partner :*

Directions:

1. Add Ghee or Clarified butter in a wok or kadhai.

2. Add Whole Wheat Flour to the melted ghee.

3. Keep tossing it on medium low flame till it turns dark brown in colour. You can moderate the temperature of flame from high to medium to low. But ensure to keep tossing continuously for it can burn. It should take good 15 minutes.

4. In the meanwhile heat water in a container and bring it to a boil.

5. Once the flour has roasted and achieved the dark brown colour add sugar and combine.

6. At this stage add water and turn the Flame OFF. No sim no low but OFF.

7. Now keep stirring it till the water and flour has become dense into a semi solid, gooey form. Ensure there are no lumps. The test of doneness is when the halwa has centred and leaves the sides.

8. Serve hot and enjoy.

You can even try the Langar wali Dal served at Sikh Gurudwaras.

Try other Halwa recipes of Sooji Halwa, Kaddu ka Halwa, Gajar ka Halwa, Swang ke Chawal ka Halwa, Seb Dalia Halwa.

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Dessert

Swang Ke Chawal Ka Halwa | Barnyard Millet Aromatic Pudding

By anshu March 23, 2015

Barnyard Millets or Swang Ke Chawal are mostly used during the fasting period when cereals and other grains are abstained. Swang ke chawal is not rice but belongs to millet family. It is know by various names like, Samvat, Sama, Vari, Varai, Samwa, Jhangora, Samo, Morio, Mario, Moraiaya, Bhagar & Kuthirai Vaali. This cereal is gluten free and is usually cultivated on marginal lands where rice doesn’t grow.

I shared my mother’s recipe of Swang Ke Chawal ki Khichdi sometime back, which was well appreciated by all my readers. So I decided to share Halwa recipe with Swang ke Chawal. It is very easy to make, simply proportions have to be correct just like the Sooji Halwa. The texture of this halwa is a little grainy but that is the beauty of it 🙂

Directions:

1.In a wok add ghee also known as clarified butter and add Swang ke Chawal. Keep roasting Swang ke Chawal in ghee by continuously stirring it till it turns slight golden brown. Keep an eye and do not let the Swang ke Chawal burn.

2. In a separate vessel take water which should be four times the sugar. Add two opened pods of cardamoms and sugar. Give it two to three boils till the sugar is dissolved in water. We do not intend to make a thick sugary syrup, just some sugar dissolved water. Keep it aside.

3. In the meanwhile chop almonds and cashews. If you wish to use any other dry fruits you can always go ahead.

4. Add the dry fruits to the Wok to get roasted all with swang ke chawal. If you like you can roast it separately and then add to the wok.

5. Now as your swang ke chawal are roasted add the light sugar syrup. Continue to stir so that no lumps are formed. Do not worry if you see the mixture has turned watery.

6. Keep stirring on high flame till it becomes dense and swang ke chawal has absorbed entire syrup. Keep stirring till you see halwa has left the sides and centered itself.

Serve hot.

You can try our other halwas like Sooji Ka Halwa, Kaddu Ka Halwa, Gajar Ka Halwa, Seb Daliye ka Halwa.

Other recipes for fasting you can try are: Healthy Kachalu Aloo Chat, Tangy Mint Potatoes, Khajoor Til Ke Laddoo, Vrat Wale Dahi-Paneer Kebabs, Swang Ke Chawal Ki Phirni, Tapioca Coconut Milk Pudding with Strawberry Preserve, Paneer Ki Kheer, Sabudana Kheer, Kaddu Ka Halwa, Sabudana Khichdi .

[whohit]SwangKChawalHalwa[/whohit]

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Dessert

Kaddu ka Halwa | Pumpkin Halwa with Melon Seeds

By anshu September 20, 2014

Kaddu or Pethey ka halwa is very close to my heart because it reminds me of my Nani, my maternal grandmother. I used to spend a considerable time of my summer vacations as my Nani‘s house. Being the first grand daughter of my Grand Parents I was always given special attention. Not that my younger cousins were less loved.

Okay coming back to the topic, during those summer vacations my grandmother would wash and dry the melon seeds in the sun and my favourite activity was to separate melon seeds from their husk using tweezers (ha! that was my secret weapon 😛 ). It was a time consuming activity which kept me involved whole day and even late nights. Everyone, I mean all my uncle and aunts loved to eat melon seeds but no one wanted to make an effort, as I said separating melon seeds could be quite a cumbersome job. So, often they would stop by me and try to steal my stash of melon seeds (how mean!). I would shout and run away. It was only my Nani who consoled me and scolded my uncles and aunts for tormenting me . Now when I remember the instances it makes me laugh but at the same time sweetly remember the not so complicated childhood.

In spite of all perils, at the end of those summer vacations I had a big container full of melon seeds. I was a very proud little girl. That was my last day at my Nani’s house, for the next day we were to return to my parent’s house which was in another city. So my Nani made her delicious Pethey ka Halwa loaded with Melon seeds. It was a celebration of my achievement. Everyone got to taste the halwa along with the melon seeds they had been eyeing for days 😛 This time I did not mind rather enjoyed it relishing the sweet halwa.

Today I share my grandmother’s recipe for Pethey ka Halwa. Some people also call it Kaddu ka Halwa. I miss her and love her. May her soul rest in peace.

Directions:

1. Choose a pumpkin which is most yellow from inside because they tend to be sweeter than the green ones.

2. Remove its skin and seeds from inside. Cut them into small pieces. The smaller the better.

3. Put ghee or clarified butter in the pressure cooker.

4. Add the pumpkin pieces into the pressure pan.

5. Toss them in ghee for a good 10-12 minutes till they start sweating and releasing some of its water.

6. Add water and stir and close the lid. Let it cook for 5-6 whistles or about 10 minutes. Let it sit in it own pressure and open the lid once the steam has escaped. You are looking at a mashable consistency. If you feel the pumpkin has not cooked fully you should cook for a little time more.

7. Put the flame on and cook for 5 minutes till water starts evaporating. Add crushed cardamom pods. If you wish you can also use cardamom powder. Also add sugar.

8. Keep cooking till you find the pumpkin all mashed and ready to get creamy. The water should have almost evaporated. It will take good 10-15 minutes. Cook on medium low flame.

9. Add melon seeds. You can use Musk melon seeds or water melon seeds. Both taste great.

You can garnish with dried fruits. I chose to garnish with more melon seeds an saffron. Serve hot.

You can even try our Sooji Halwa and Gajar ka Halwa. If you looking for more Navratri or Vrat recipes you can checkout Sabudana Khichdi, Makhaney ki Kheer, Swang ke Chawal ki Khichdi, Rasgulla, Anaar Aloo ka Raita and Kachalu Aloo ki Chaat.

[whohit]KadduKaHalwa[/whohit]

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