Aki's Kitchen - Recipes


Halva		Desserts 1
A semolina dessert made with no animal products. Serve 8 - 10.

Ingredients:		Tools & Equipment:
2 1/2 cups cold water 1 cup sugar 1 cinnamon stick 1 clove the peel of 1/4 of a lemon 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup oil, light tasting	1 cup semolina, (wheat hearts), medium grit 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds or walnuts, crushed 2 1/2 cups cold water honey, cinnamon and extra toasted almond slivers, for topping	large regular pot large non-stick pot long handle wooden spoon a small decorative ring pan, 6 cups, or small bowls or ramekins of choice

Notes:

This recipe requires adding a hot liquid into the hot pot of the semolina and as they are combining, the mixture will boil furiously and produce a lot of steam and splattering: be careful.

If medium grit semolina is not available, then use large grit: small grit doesn't work out as well, since when cooked, it hardly becomes noticeable. I use the regular semolina sold in a plastic bag, not the cream of wheat, which cooks in 5 minutes.

When making this recipe, the heat has to be high, not low; otherwise, the semolina will cook quickly and swell, let alone taste watery and gummy; there's nothing wrong with this, but you lose some of the granular texture.

The nuts are toasted and cooled: the almonds are crushed in the hand to allow for some large pieces. The walnuts are toasted, cooled and crushed in a bowl with a fork: prepare in advance.

There's no need to grease the pan or moulds. Anything can be used: a small salad bowl, 4 - 6 coffee cups, ramekins, or drinking glasses: be creative. I am not too specific about the amount and size of the containers, since the type and brand of semolina, pot, as well as the degree of heat during cooking, will influence the amount you will make: a little more or less.

The dessert can be held at room temperature for a couple of hours; however, it should be refrigerated if made a day in advance.

This dessert is an oil-lent food: it contains no animal products.

1. Pan filled with the halva mixture.

2. Halva inverted onto platter.

How :
In a regular pot, add: 2 1/2 cups cold water, sugar, cinnamon stick, clove, lemon peel, salt and vanilla; boil over high heat for 5 minutes, uncovered; discard the cinnamon, clove and lemon peel. Keep the pot on the turned-off burner to keep the syrup warm.

In a large non-stick pot, heat the oil over high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add in the semolina; cook and stir continuously for 5 - 7 minutes, or until the semolina starts to take on a light tan colour, but has not browned, using a long handled wooden spoon. A particular aroma will be released as the semolina is being cooked. Add in the nuts; cook and stir for 15 seconds, and then remove the pot from the heat.

AT THIS POINT: WORK QUICKLY, BUT BE CAREFUL, SINCE THE POT WITH THE SEMOLINA WILL BE VERY HOT AND WHEN YOU ADD IN THE HOT SYRUP, THE COMBINED MIXTURE WILL BE BOILING FURIOUSLY; SPLATTER WILL OCCUR AND A LARGE AMOUNT OF STEAM WILL BE PRODUCED. THIS IS THE REASON WHY YOU NEED A LONG HANDLED WOODEN SPOON. Carefully pour all of the syrup into the semolina mixture; stir everything well and then return the pot to a medium-high heat (about 7 on a typical electric burner), stirring constantly until the mixture thickens; splattering will occur as the mixture thickens.

When the mixture has thickened; when you pass the wooden spoon through the mixture and you can see the bottom of the pot, add in a 1/2 cup of water from the 2 1/2 cups cold water; cook and stir the mixture until it has thickened as mentioned before. Repeat adding in the rest of the cold water and cooking the mixture in the same manner as before. The mixture, when done, should be thick, not loose.

Remove from heat and cover the pot with a matching lid: let stand 2 minutes. Stir the mixture; it will have thickened a bit more and traces of the wooden spoon should be seen in the granular mixture. Spoon the mixture into the pan, or moulds, smooth out the top and then cover the pan with a sheet of plastic film; cool to room temperature and refrigerate if necessary.

To serve: place a large platter over the top of the pan and then invert everything, tapping the pan to loosen and release the Halva onto the platter. Sprinkle some toasted almonds, or walnuts, over the top, dust with a bit of cinnamon powder and then drizzle a bit of honey over everything.

back to top

Looking Back at Everything You've Made!
This is a simple dessert to make. The crucial part is adding the syrup into the hot pot of semolina without getting a steam burn.