Chholar Daler Halwa
A ghee-laden fudge made of Bengal gram
- Cooking time2 hours
Calories337kcal
Halwa is a style of dessert where a grain, seed, vegetable, or fruit is cooked along with sugar and ghee until almost all of the water evaporates and the dish takes on a glossy appearance and a fudgy texture. Halwa is cooked and enjoyed everywhere from Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa to Asia. What is halwa made from? If it's edible, chances are someone somewhere has tried to turn it into halwa at some point.
This is Salma's family recipe of chholar dal'er halwa, that is, halwa made from split Bengal gram ("chana dal" in some South Asian languages), which she learnt from her mother-in-law. As Salma mentions in the video, chaal'er ruti and chhola'r dal'er halwa are staples in Bengali Muslim households on Shab-e-Barat—around early spring. What makes this halwa special is that instead of cow milk, it uses coconut milk. That small change takes this already fabulous dish to an elevated decadence.
Like most traditional halwas, this recipe is laborious because it needs constant stirring and vigilance, but the end result is something quite exquisite. Even if you are someone who would never take on so much work for one dish, we think it is a privilege to learn about its intricacies from an expert like Salma.
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Ingredients
- 250 g chholar dal (split Bengal gram, soaked 2 hours)
- 350 g water
- 145 g ghee
- 3 cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 L coconut milk (thick, first-press)
- 25 g cashewnuts
- 25 g raisins
- 250 g sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 10 g pistachios (for decoration)
Method
- Wash and soak the chholar dal in water for 2 hours until swollen. Strain the water.
- Add the strained dal to a saucepan with 350 g water. Boil until the dal is cooked and the water has all been absorbed.
- Once cool, grind to a fine powder.
- To extract coconut milk, grate about 700 g of coconut and grind it to. paste with 700 g water. Bundle it in a cotton cloth and squeeze to extract all the milk. We need 1 litre of coconut milk.
- Chop cashew and raisins to bite-sized pieces.
- Heat the kadai. Add 60 g ghee.
- Add the ground dal and roast it on low heat, stirring continuously, for 30–40 mins, until brown and nutty. Set aside.
- Add another 85 g ghee to the pan. Temper it with cardamom and bay leaf.
- Add the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and chopped raisins and cashewnuts.
- Once the coconut milk comes to a boil, add the roasted dal.
- Cook for another 30 mins until the ghee releases and the mixture comes off the sides of the pan.
- Grease a shallow tray with ghee and transfer the mixture to it. Spread evenly.
- While it is still hot, cut in diamond-shaped borfi. Decorate with chopped pistachios. Serve at room temperature, by itself, or with chal'er rooti.
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