Don’t waste time with halva from the store – make it yourself with this easy recipe. Homemade is so much better!
Olga BrovkinaHalva, an oriental sweet treat common in the Middle East and the Balkans, has been known from ancient times. Translated from Arabic as “sweetness”, halva’s birthplace is said to be Iran, from where it spread throughout the world, acquiring more and more new cooking recipes.
Halva is highly nutritious, but remains a simple dessert. In Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, it’s cooked from sunflower seeds. In the Caucasus region - it’s made from wheat or corn flour with added sweetener and melted butter. Today, we’ll cook the Caucasian version of halva, or, to be more precise, Ingush halva (Ingushetia is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus).
The element that binds the various ingredients together is usually ghee (melted butter) or ordinary solid butter. Thus, halva’s main ingredients are sugar or honey, flour, butter, and one or two types of raw nuts that obtain its unusual taste and texture precisely through frying for a long time on a skillet.
Nutritional scientists confirm that halva very quickly saturates the body. Also, it’s rich in vitamins A, B, and E, fatty acids, and antioxidants.
Halva’s most striking feature is that it requires 30-40 minutes of continuous stirring to make it tender and homogeneous, but the results are definitely worth it. If you prefer, certainly add dried raisins and walnuts or any other nuts.
From the proposed amount of ingredients, we’ll get 15 pieces of medium-sized halva. You can double or triple the portion, because you’ll quickly realize that this dessert is absolutely delicious.
Preparation:
1. Take the cold butter and melt it in a thick-walled skillet.
2. Add corn flour gradually. Mix it thoroughly with the butter, stirring constantly, and cook on minimum heat for 7 minutes.
3. Pour 50 g of sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10-12 minutes. Eventually, the mass will acquire a golden brown color.
4. Combine the rest of the sugar with water. Bring to a boil; then boil for 1 minute and pour into the mixture in the frying pan, carefully stirring.
5. Cook the mass, stirring occasionally, for another 5-7 minutes.
6. Remove the mass from the heat, add nuts, mix and cool slightly; form small balls from the mass, placing them into molds or squeezing them in the palm of your hand (2 tablespoons each is enough). You can also form one large, flat workpiece 2-cm thick (as shown in the photo), and then, after cooling it completely, cut it into portioned pieces. Leave your halva masterpiece to settle in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
7. Halva is ready to be served on your holiday table. Enjoy it with herbal tea!
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