Corn Meal Halva
Makka Atta Halva
Mamta Gupta
If you keep corn meal for making Makka roties, try making this easy halva, a popular sweet dish served with tea in India. It is easy to make yet delicious!
I have used less ghee and sugar here, but in a traditional recipe from my grandmother?s day, the quantity of flour, ghee and sugar should be the same in all types of Atta/flour halvas.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup corn flour (makka atta)
3/4 clarified butter or ghee
3/4 gm. sugar (brown sugar gives it a nicer taste)
2 cups water
1 tsp. cardamom powder
1-2 tbsp. blanched and chopped almonds/pistachios/cashew nuts
1 tbsp. raisins (optional)
A few strands of saffron, soaked in warm water (optional)
Instructions
Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed wok or karahi.
Add flour and stir fry on low medium heat, stirring almost continuously, until it turns darker in colour and the smell of roasting rises from it. You will also see ghee oozing out at the edges of the flour, see picture 4. It is important to roast the flour well, do not be in a hurry here. Otherwise, you will end up with a sticky, lumpy mess! So, do not be in a hurry to go to the next step. Look at the pictures carefully.
Meanwhile, while you are frying the flour, boil the water and dissolve sugar in measured amounts Add saffron threads to it. Keep aside. Picture 5.
Turn heat down, add sugar dissolved in water, raisins and cardamoms. My pictures here do not show raisins, because my husband doesn?t eat them, so I rarely add them.
Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously to avoid forming lumps. Picture 6 here shows how easily lumps could form, if you do not stir it continuously. I often use a wire whisk, as shown here, to stop lumps from forming.
Continue stirring, until the whole mass begins to come off the pan in one mass and ghee oozes out at the edges. See pictures 7, 8 & 9.
Add half the chopped nuts and mix. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with remaining nuts.
Serve piping hot with tea/ Masala Chai.
