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Karachi halwa
کراچی حلوہ (karachi halwa): a translucent, chewy cornflour halwa with ghee, cardamom and nuts
Glassy, jewel-bright and chewy like a Turkish delight with more bite, Karachi halwa is the sweet that the city's mithai shops on Saddar and Tariq Road stack in orange, green and red slabs studded with cashews and melon seeds, and it travels well as a gift to family abroad. It is made from cornflour cooked with sugar syrup and lemon until it turns clear, then fed with ghee spoon by spoon until it shines and pulls away from the pan in one elastic mass. Across the border it is called Bombay halwa, and in Pakistan it is a staple for weddings, Eid and Diwali sweet boxes from the Hindu shops of Sindh. Lots of cooks lose their nerve and stop before the halwa has absorbed all the ghee and turned translucent, and it sets cloudy and sticky. Chef's tip: work the halwa with a flat wooden spatula and add the ghee only when the previous spoonful has disappeared; when the ghee starts to leak back out, it is done.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the halwa
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 14 oz sugar
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 oz ghee
- 1 /2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 pinch orange or green food colour (optional)
Nuts
- 1 ⅜ oz cashewschopped
- 1 oz almondssliced
- 1 tbsp melon seeds (optional)
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Grease a 20 cm square tin with a little of ¼ oz ghee.
Step 2: Whisk 4 oz cornflour (cornstarch) with 1 ¼ cups water into a smooth, lump-free slurry.
Step 3: Put 14 oz sugar and 1 ¼ cups water in a heavy, wide non-stick pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 3 minutes.
6 minStep 4: Add 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 pinch orange or green food colour to the syrup.
Step 5: Whisk the cornflour slurry again and pour it into the boiling syrup, whisking hard, then switch to a spatula and stir constantly for 6–8 minutes until it turns thick, lumpy and starts to look glassy.
8 minStep 6: Add 4 oz ghee a tablespoon at a time, stirring hard after each addition until it is absorbed, over a medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes, until the halwa is clear, glossy and gathers in one jelly-like mass that leaves the pan.
30 minStep 7: Keep stirring until ghee starts to seep out at the edges, then stir in 1 /2 tsp ground cardamom, 1 ⅜ oz cashews, 1 oz almonds and 1 tbsp melon seeds.
3 minStep 8: Scrape into the greased tin, smooth the top with an oiled spatula and leave to set for at least 3 hours at room temperature.
Step 9: Cut into squares or diamonds; it keeps for 2 weeks in an airtight tin.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does karachi halwa take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of cornflour (cornstarch)?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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