Delicious Variations Of Halva (Halwa) For This Diwali

Sweet savoury desserts are the highlight of the Diwali 2011 festival. The celebrations are not complete if there aren't an assortment of sweets and desserts on the table for your family and friends to enjoy. In this article, we have listed some delicious Diwali recipes for  Halva (halwa in Hindi) that you can easily prepare in no time!

1.     Caramel Halva

The caramel adds a delicious twist to the traditional halva. Here is what you need:

• 1 cup suji (semolina)
• 1 cup plain granulated sugar
• 1 cup of pure ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder
• Dry fruits for garnish
• Water or milk to soak the semolina

Method:

• Soak the semolina in a little water (it will swell to almost double the size).
• Stir the sugar and cardamom powder with ghee in a nonstick pan on a medium flame until it melts and turns golden brown (caramel).
• Reduce the heat and add the soaked semolina. Keep stirring continuously until the oil separates.
• Remove from heat and cool.
• Garnish with strands of saffron, almonds and cashew nuts.
• You can also add raisins to the mixture.
• Sever hot or cold.

2.     Bread halva

This is a special sweet treat for Diwali, which uses bread as one of the main ingredient. Here is what you need for it:

• Eight slices of regular white bread (you can use brown bread as well...however, white bread tastes better).
• 100 grams of khoya (mawa)
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder
• 1 cup of ghee (clarified butter)
• Some dry fruits and raisins for garnish

Method:

• Make breadcrumbs by rubbing the bread slices between your palms.(take care to remove the crusts)
• Add crumbed khoya (mawa), and sugar to the breadcrumbs. Mix well
• Add cardamom powder and milk to the mixture and combine well.
• Heat ghee in a nonstick pan on a medium heat.
• Add the prepared mixture to the ghee and cook on a low heat. Stirring continuously to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
• When the oil starts separating from the mix, remove from the heat.
• Garnish with dry fruits, raisins.
• You can also add some dry dates to it for a twist.
• This tastes best when served hot.

Note:

• In both the recipes, you can replace sugar with sugar free (used for cooking).
• You can also decrease or increase the amount of sugar used depending on taste.
• When the halva is cold, you can use a cookie cutter to cut it into interesting shapes.