In these testing times during the COVID-19 Pandemic, between rationing food and not splurging sometimes you need a little sweetness in your life, in your meals, and in your outlook. Tame your sweets craving with this no-frills recipe. Not too many ingredients, but this recipe of Indian dessert is perfect and simple. You can store it in the refrigerator for more than a week. Normally the "halwa" is made as an offering to God on special occasions/festivals and mostly served with Puri (puffed Indian bread) and Aloo Sabzi (Potato curry). But I make it every 10-15 days since this is simply delicious, healthy, and fulfilling. Don't worry about the quantity of Ghee and sugar, it's perfectly proportionate to the numbers of servings unless you are eating all the Halwa in one sitting.
Serving size: 5-6
Ingredients:
3/4 cup: Fine Semolina or Suji (alternatively you can use cream of wheat also )
3/4 cup: whole almonds
1 cup: Brown sugar ( Alternatively you can 3/4 white sugar as well)
4 Tbsp: Clarified butter /Ghee
Cardamom pods: 3-4
Raisins: a handful
Milk: one cup
Directions: In the blender make a coarse powder of almonds. Keep it aside. Peel the cardamoms pods, remove the seeds and with the help of mortar/pestle or a roller, crush them finely and keep aside. In a heavy bottom pan or Kadhai add ghee/clarified butter, once warm add the semolina flour/Suji/cream of wheat, keep stirring on medium-low flame. Make sure the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom, if it starts sticking, turn the flame to lowest. keep stirring for another 20 mins or so, now add the almonds powder. Stir for another 10 mins or so. The color of the mixture will be golden or a little darker from earlier. Now mix sugar and milk together and pour it into the mixture. Keep stirring the mixture vigorously on medium heat. If you feel the mixture needs more sweetness, you can add sugar now. Add the raisins and the crushed cardamom. Incorporate everything. Keep stirring for another 5-10 mins, it should thicken, the milk should have evaporated by now. Turn the flame off. Cover it and let it sit for 5-10 mins before opening again. You can garnish with slivered almonds if you wish you. Enjoy piping hot and or once cooled down transfer in a glass container with a lid and refrigerate it. You can enjoy it for days if you can resist not to devour in a single sitting.
