Gajar Halwa
Semolina Halwa
Coconut Halwa
Almond Halwa
Honeyed crunchy halva, so tempting. It just cries out to be broken into so that you can discover it’s unique taste and texture. It’s a terrific taste and satisfying treat for all to enjoy. It is not very difficult to make, only thing is a difficult wait as it takes almost 36 hours to get right 😉
You will need:-
- 300 g light tahini paste mixed properly with the excess oil.
- 300 g good quality clear honey
- 150 g pistachio nuts lightly roasted +1 tbsp finely chopped for garnishing
- 2 tbsp edible rose petals for garnishing
- 1/2 tsp rose extract
- Sugar thermometer ( optional ) Make life very easy. I own one 🙂
Method:- Line the base and sides of a loaf tin with baking parchment. My loaf tin was much bigger, so didn’t get much hight to my halva. In a heavy based pan pour honey and start heating on high heat. If using thermometer place in the pan now. Keep stirring and let it simmer until the thermometer reaches 260 F or Firm Ball stage, switch off the heat. Leave it to cool for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, place tahini paste in another pan and gentle heat, keep stirring for 3 minutes. Add rose extract, 150 g nuts and warm tahini in to the hot honey syrup. Combine well and pour the halva mixture in to the loaf tin. Let it cool completely at room temperature. Seal the loaf tin with more parchment so moisture stays out and place in the fridge for 36 hours to allow small sugar crystals that gives halva distinctive flavour and texture time to develop. Cut with very sharp knife into pieces while halva is still cold, but serve at room temperature. Enjoy !
Palak and Paneer kofta curry .
You will need :- Kofta
3 medium sweet potatoes
1 packet of tofu almost 400 g
2 – 3 tbsp corn flour or plain flour
Salt to taste
4 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
3 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp. ginger green chilli paste
1tbsp.finely chopped coriander
Pinch of garam masala
Pinch of cardamom powder
1 cup tomato puree ( 2/3 tomato + 1/3 water )
2 medium onion roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp. grated ginger
2-3 tbsp. oil
Pinch of cardamom powder
Pinch of mace powder ( Javentri ) optional
4 – 5 tbsp. light coconut milk ( optional )
1/2 tsp. kasoori methi
Salt to taste
1/4 cup plain cashew nuts + 2 tbsp. poppy seeds + 1tbsp. + 2 tbsp.raisins +1tbsp melon seeds soaked in a warm water
1 tbsp. Kashmir chilli powder
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
2 tsp. ground coriander and cumin
Handful of chopped coriander
Place them on a M/W proof plate and cook 12-15 minutes or until the flesh is thoroughly cooked and tender. Let it cool little and remove skin, mash them with a potato masher or by hand. Sweet potato mash should be without any lumps. Mash tofu and combine with mashed sweet potatoes. Add corn flour, ginger green chilli paste, finely chopped coriander, garam masala and cardamom powder. Once again mix all the ingredients well and make equal sized balls, press slightly place cashew and raisins and seal the ball properly. Repeat with remaining balls and filling. Heat paniyaram pan,add few drops of oil and place stuffed koftas to cook. Cook the koftas till light golden brown on a low heat. Remove them and leave it aside for later use.
Grind soaked cashew and seeds in a grinder to a puree. Heat oil in a heavy based kadai or pan. Add onion, garlic and ginger and saute till light pink. Switch off the heat. Transfer sauteed onion. garlic and ginger in a processor and process till you get fine puree. ( Maybe you’ll need little water ) Turn on the heat, add pureed onion mixture in to same kadai and start cooking on a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add tomato puree and continuously cook the mixture. Add chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander and cumin powder and salt. After 2-3 minutes add cashew paste and keep cooking the mixture. Turn the heat down and cook slowly till you see oil separating on side of the pan. Add little water if gravy is too thick. Add kasoori methi, cardamom and mace powder. Let the gravy cook for 8-10 minutes. Add coconut milk, garam masala and switch off the heat. When ready to serve, heat the gravy once again add koftas, garnish with coriander and serve straight away. Enjoy with round and soft gujarati rotlis , naan or plain paratha.
Thank you for stopping by 🙂
