Halva With Spice Dried Fruit and Nuts

Halva (sometimes spelled halwa) refers to a large family of Indian desserts that can be made with a wide variety of ingredients. Halva can be made from grains like wheat (semolina and wheat flour), pulses like chickpeas and mung beans, nuts like almonds and cashews, vegetables like carrots and pumpkin, and fruits like bananas and sapota; there is a version that is even made with eggs.

Halva is usually served on special occasions and during holidays like Diwali, Holi, and Ramadan, and while it’s technically a dessert, I used to eat it for breakfast as a kid. My recommendation is you should eat it as I do, which is whenever I want something sweet.

The Basics

Whether you’re using semolina or a carrot, halva is typically prepared by boiling the base ingredient in milk or water along with some kind of aromatic fat, like ghee or coconut oil. Cooks will add spices and seasonings like saffron and rosewater to this mixture to enhance its aroma and flavor, but also its color; presentation can be quite important since halva is often served at celebrations. Similarly, garnishes for halva are used to provide texture and improve its visual appeal: a combination of fried nuts and dried fruit provide crunch and chew, for example, and strands of saffron or sheet of varak (or silver foil) are often used to make halva look more celebratory.

Indian vs. American Semolina

The recipe I’ve provided below is for semolina halva, which might just be the quickest halva to make. Semolina is a coarse wheat flour made from a type of hard wheat called durum. In India, semolina goes by the names sooji or rava and it’s ground a bit more coarsely, with particles that are slightly larger than the semolina sold in American stores (although King Arthur Baking Company makes a coarse semolina that works wonderfully in this recipe). You can use either kind, but a halva made with American semolina will be much smoother in texture than one made with Indian semolina.

Adding Spice

To spice the halva, I add a combination of green cardamom, cloves, black pepper, and saffron, but instead of just adding it to the semolina mixture, I incorporate the spice mixture with the dried fruit and nut garnish as well. I also add rosewater for aroma, which is optional but I highly recommend using it. Be sure to add the rosewater toward the end, after the semolina is completely cooked, to prevent its volatile fragrance from evaporating.

How (and Why) to Toast the Semolina

My main deviation from classic methods for making semolina halva is that I prefer toasting the semolina in a pan, which gives the halva a light, toasty aroma. Be sure to stir the semolina occasionally as you toast it to promote even browning and prevent it from burning; burnt semolina will make the halva taste unpleasantly bitter. Once the semolina is toasted, I add in ghee and the spice mixture, which will help bring out the oil-soluble compounds in the spice mixture, and then all you have to do is add boiling water and sugar and simmer the mixture until it’s fully cooked. However, do be careful when adding the boiling water, as the mixture will immediately start to sputter.

Garnishing and Serving

Finally, I prepare the garnish: blanched and peeled nuts and a combination of dried fruits—a mixture of raisins, dried apricots, and dried tart cherries remains my favorite. Once you stir the fried and spiced garnish directly into the prepared halva, you can scrape the mixture into a serving bowl and serve it immediately, or you can set it aside to serve at room temperature at a later time. Just remember that halva is best served warm or at room temperature, as that means the ghee will be a liquid instead of a solid, which gives the rich treat an even more luxurious mouthfeel.