Besan Halwa Recipe | How to make Besan Halwa

Halwa is part of Indian culture. This dessert though supposed to be originated in Persian region. In arabic "halwa" means a dessert. In India, halwa is a dish which is cooked with flour, ghee and sugar. Some flavorings like cardamom or cinnamon can be added. 

Making halwa is as easy as eating it 😊 ! Halwa is kind of thick syrup and that is why good to offer even to little babies. Besan ka Halwa is made using gram flour along with ghee and sugar. Besan is widely used in Indian cuisine for preparing sour, salty to sweet dishes.

When as a kid, mom used to make Besan Halwa quite often during winter. She will add black peppercorn powder as well in it. So it is like, in summer cardamom is used as a flavoring and in winter black pepper powder is used to flavor it. Also Besan ka Halwa is served when someone has cold. I also  prepare besan halwa , specially during winter. 

Sometimes we skip adding any cardamom or black pepper in besan halwa and yet, it tastes wonderful !

There are various halwa recipes prepared using a variety of flour like Sooji (semolina) halwa, aate ka halwa,  rajgiri halwa, kuttu halwa and many more versions of halwa. 

There is one ingredient which ca be replaced in the recipe. Often milk is used to make besan halwa and it can be easily replaced with water. Here is the recipe for Besan Halwa !

Video : Besan ka Halwa

Recipe Details : Besan ka Halwa

Ingredients for Besan ka Halwa

Besan (Gram Flour) : 1 cup

Green Cardamom powder (optional) : 1/4 tsp

Ghee : 1/4 cup (adjust accordingly)

Milk : 1 cup

Sugar : 1/3 cup (adjust)

Few dry fruits to garnish

How to make Besan ka Halwa

To make besan ka halwa, we need boiled milk. So keep the milk boiled in advance and when it is cooled down to room temperature, it can be used to make besan halwa. 

Heat 1 small spoon ghee in a pan. Add the nuts of choice to fry in it. I have used almonds and cashews. Once the nuts start turning golden in color, turn off the flames and keep nuts aside. These nuts will be used in garnishing besan halwa, once it is ready.

Now in a bowl, take 1/4 cup of milk and soak saffron strands in it. Keep it aside for 15 minutes, meanwhile we can roast the gram flour. Saffron leaves a light yellow color and adds a very nice aroma to the besan halwa. Saffron also enhances the taste of besan halwa.

Now we will start preparing besan halwa. For this,  heat ghee in a pan. Keep the flames low. Let it melt. 

Now add the gram four in warm ghee. We should not heat ghee to high temperature else as soon as we put gram flour in it, it may start burning. So keeping the flames low will be very helpful.

Roasting gram flour on low flames is very essential. We have to keep stirring he mix continuously. We have to cook gram flour in ghee till it starts turning golden in color. Here light in kitchen plays an important role. In case of not enough light, we may end up overcooking besan as the color of besan changes quickly from yellow to golden. Over cooked or dark brown besan will have a burning smell which will not go away even when halwa is ready. Add cardamom powder once besan is cooked.

Now we add the saffron milk along with the rest of the milk in it. Keep stirring continuously. Slowly the halwa starts thickening.

While we are still continuously stirring the mix, sugar is added. Sugar can be replaced with jaggery or jaggery powder as well. In winter, jaggery is a good option to make besan halwa.

Keep stirring continuously till the sugar dissolves else melting sugar may form the lumps in besan halwa.

Once this mix starts leaving the pan becomes thick, Besan halwa is ready. Now turn off the flames. Garnish it with fried nuts and besan halwa is ready to serve.

Besan ka halwa and ginger tea is a beautiful combination. So this is a detailed recipe of  Besan Halwa. I hope you find it useful.

What is Halwa ?

1. Halwa or halua is a widely known confectionery which was originated in Persia. A thick sugary flour paste is called halwa in Indian region. 

Which flour can be used to make Halwa ?

Wheat Flour, Buck Wheat flour, Rajgira flour, Gram Flour, Raagi Flour , Oats flour.  

Can we replace white sugar in Halwa preparation ?

Sugar can be replaced with raw or brown dugar, jaggery or jaggery powder. In some recipes, honey is also used as a sweetener in halwa

Which fruits can be used to make halwa ?

Halwa can be prepared using few fruits as well as some vegetables like Banana, Pineapple, Apple, Bottle gourd, Potato and Egg also.