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Sohan halwa

A halwa set with cornflour, boiled until solid, and brittle rather than fudgy.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (ghee), dairy (whole milk).

Ingredients

Method

  1. CORNFLOUR IS WHAT SETS IT, BOILED UNTIL SOLID, AND IT SETS BRITTLE RATHER THAN FUDGY. Its article gives the whole construction in one sentence: it is MADE BY BOILING A MIXTURE OF WATER, SUGAR, MILK, AND CORNFLOUR UNTIL IT BECOMES SOLID. SAFFRON IS USED FOR FLAVORING. GHEE IS USED TO PREVENT IT FROM STICKING TO THE PAN. ALMONDS, PISTACHIOS, AND CARDAMOM SEEDS ARE ADDED. There is no flour, no dal and no milk solids in it. The starch is the structure.
  2. AND ITS ARTICLE SAYS WHAT THAT MAKES IT. A part of Mughlai cuisine, UNLIKE MOST OTHER HALWA DISHES FROM THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, IS VERY DENSE -- and the section on how it is sold is the better description still: BRITTLE AND CARAMELISED, USUALLY MADE INTO DISCS OF 5-6MM THICKNESS OR AS SQUARE BITE-SIZE PIECES. Thin, hard and snappable, not soft.
  3. SLAKE THE CORNFLOUR IN THE COLD MILK BEFORE ANYTHING IS HEATED. A hundred and twenty grams into two hundred and fifty millilitres, whisked until there is not a lump left. Cornflour into hot liquid seizes instantly and cannot be rescued.
  4. BOIL THE SUGAR AND WATER TO A THICK SYRUP FIRST. Ten minutes at a steady boil. Saffron in here, crushed, so the hot syrup takes the colour.
  5. POUR THE SLAKED CORNFLOUR INTO THE SYRUP IN A THIN STREAM, WHISKING THE WHOLE TIME. It thickens within a minute to something like wallpaper paste. Keep the heat low from here.
  6. THEN IT IS BOILED ON, AND ON. Thirty to forty minutes, stirred constantly with a wooden spoon, while it goes from pale paste to amber and then to a mass that holds the trail of the spoon and comes away from the sides. The article's instruction is UNTIL IT BECOMES SOLID and it means it.
  7. THE GHEE GOES IN BY THE SPOONFUL AND IS NOT AN INGREDIENT SO MUCH AS A TOOL. Its article's reason is that GHEE IS USED TO PREVENT IT FROM STICKING TO THE PAN. Add it whenever the mass starts to grab.
  8. NUTS AND CARDAMOM IN AT THE END, THEN SPREAD IT FIVE MILLIMETRES THIN AND LET IT GO COLD. A greased tray or a marble slab, pressed out with an oiled spatula. Score it into squares while it is warm and break along the lines when cold. Stored in a tin it keeps for weeks, which is why its article says it is sold in intricately designed tin cylinders.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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