Halwa is a famous dessert that is prepared all over the world with various ingredients and in countless forms. This 20-minute recipe is prepared with semolina in the Pakistani and North Indian style.
You know how Tolstoy famously said, “there are as many kinds of loves as there are hearts”? Well, I’m going to not-so-famously say “there are as many kinds of halwas as there are countries”.
Apparently, there are few countries in the world in which halwa (or halva, halwah, halveh, helva, halua, and the list goes on) is NOT a traditional dessert. It’s a kind of centuries-old global sweet. The word halwa comes from the Arabic root “helw”, which means “sweet”, and many middle-eastern cultures like to claim it’s their original concoction (hey, I would want to take credit for coming up with like that too). Nonetheless, if a dessert has been carrying on for centuries, it must be pretty good, right? It’s so simple, it’s genius, not to mention easy to prepare.
I must confess, it took me a couple (okay, several) tries to perfect this recipe. I’ll go on to embarrass myself by pretty much giving away how I messed up each time; so go ahead, make it and impress everyone with your halwa skills at my expense.
I present to you the 5 commandments of Halwa-making:
- Thou shalt embrace stirring. Seriously, you’re going to be stirring constantly.
- Thou shalt thoroughly roast the semolina, without burning it.
- Thou shalt boil the sugar and water mixture separately instead of being lazy and throwing it in with the browned semolina.
- Thou shalt not attempt to be overly healthy and skimp on the butter.
- Thou shalt use fine quality semolina.
If you follow the 5 commandments, you will be treated to a dessert that will feel like heaven on earth (sorry, I had to).
Traditional Sooji ka Halwa (Semolina Halwa)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 1 cup fine semolina sooji
- 2-3 cups water*
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar or cane sugar or to taste
- 4-5 cardamom pods slightly cracked open
- 1/2 tsp to 2 tsp rose water depending on how strong your rose water is
- pinch of saffron optional
- slivered almonds for garnish** (optional)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan on medium-low heat and add the semolina.
- Stir the semolina continuously until it roasts evenly and turns golden in color, about 10-12 minutes. Depending on your stovetop, you may need to raise the heat to medium to help it come to the roasting point. Then lower the heat as needed. Remove from heat once the semolina is well roasted and has turned golden. You can also continue on to the next step while roasting the semolina.
- In a separate small saucepan, bring to water, light brown sugar and cardamom pods to a boil. Keep simmering until the sugar is dissolved, and then remove from heat and add the rose water and saffron.
- Place the semolina mixture back over medium heat. Stir this sugar syrup carefully into the browned semolina. Continue to stir for a couple of minutes, until the mixture thickens, loses most of its moisture and the butter starts to separate from the semolina. Sometimes I like to add a dollop of ghee at this point to give it a nice finish.
- Garnish with slivered almonds (or other garnishings) and serve warm.
Notes
Enjoy!
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Best dessert ever, simple yet decadent! I used salted butter which gave it an additional depth.
So glad to hear that, Faisal! Thank you for sharing your review!
Ma Shaa Allah i just made this .. I would like to congratulate yoi on sharing such a wonderful recipe .. me and my family enjoyed the halwa much .. may God bless you abundantly teacher ji
Thanks so much!! I’m very happy you all enjoyed it!
Great recipe. Just made it for Eid with channa – delicious
So glad to hear that. Thanks for sharing, Cathy!!
This was my first time making halwa and it turned out delicious! I’m not a big fan of halwa so was making it for the family but I ended up eating a bunch with a spoon after it was done lol. It’s so yummy!
Yayyyy, so glad to hear that!! Thank you, Eshi!
I have always wanted to make a good suji ka halwa, and tried many recipes on the internet. Yours is the only one that has worked perfectly!! Thanks you so much!!
So glad to hear it! Thank you for leaving your feedback, Moizzah!!
Sooji ka halwa is heaven! Though i know how to make it but will try your way.
Thank you for sharing
Thank you! Let me know if you do!