Halva (also halvah, halwa, halua) is a type of confectionery that is found throughout North Africa, East Africa, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Levant. The name refers to a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made from flour, butter, oil, saffron, rosewater, milk, turmeric powder, and sugar.
Etymology
The word halva entered the English language between 1840 and 1850 from Romanian, which came from Ottoman Turkish: حلوى, romanized: helva, itself ultimately derived from Arabic: حلاوة, romanized: ḥalwat to Persian: حلوا, romanized: halwā, a sweet confection. The root in Arabic: ح ل و, romanized: ḥ-l-w, means "sweet". In the pre-Islamic period, the name for the category of confections that would develop into halva was called 𐭬𐭱𐭩𐭠 𐭧𐭥𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭪 rōγn xwardīg in Middle Persian, literally meaning "oil food".
History Halva originated in Persia (modern-day Iran). In the 7th century in the Arabian Peninsula, the word denoted a paste of dates that had been kneaded with milk. By the 9th century, the term was applied to numerous kinds of sweets, including the now-familiar sweetened cooked semolina or flour paste. The first proper recipes of halva were documented in the 13th-century Arabic cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes), as well as an anonymous cookbook from 13th-century Al-Andalus. Athenaeus mentions an ancient Greek dish called "sesamidios" (Ancient Greek: σησαμίδιός), which is described as a spherical cake made of honey, roasted sesame seeds, and oil; this dish is considered to have been the same as the sesame seed-based version of halva. Halva was also eaten in the Byzantine Empire, where it was well-attested. Later, it was adopted by the Ottoman Turks, including the sesame-based version, and spread throughout their empire. A description of sesame-based halwa (called Arabic: حلاوة طحينية) can be found in an 1844 dictionary by Swedish Orientalist Jacob Berggren. According to Al Adib magazine, a factory for tahini halwa was established as early as 1874 in Beirut.
Types Most types of halva are relatively dense confections sweetened with sugar or honey. Their textures, however, vary. For example, semolina-based halva's texture can range from a buttery, moist, clumpy couscous to something gelatinous and translucent, while sesame-based halva is drier and more crumbly.
Grain-based halva
Grain-based halva is made by toasting flour or cornstarch in oil, mixing it into a roux, and then cooking it with a sugary syrup. Corn is rarely used. Dishes made from wheat semolina include suji ka halwa in India, Pakistan, Shujir Halua in Bangladesh and irmik helvası in Turkey. In both dishes, semolina is toasted in fat, either oil or butter, and then mixed with water or milk and sugar to achieve the desired flavor and consistency. Wheat-based sohan halwa in northern India and Pakistan is a renowned delicacy made by combining wheat flour with milk, sugar, clarified butter, cardamom, saffron, and nuts such as almonds and pistachios. The mixture is slow-cooked, allowing the sugar to caramelize, which gives Sōhan halvā its unique firm and brittle texture.
Dairy-based rice flour halva, known as Pathein halawa, is considered a Burmese delicacy native to the city of Pathein.
Sesame Sesame halva is popular in the Balkans, Poland, the Middle East, and other areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The primary ingredients in this confection are sesame butter or paste (tahini), and sugar, glucose or honey. Soapwort (called ‘erq al halaweh in Arabic; çöven in Turkish), or egg white are added in some recipes to stabilize the oils in the mixture or create a distinctive texture for the resulting confection. Other ingredients and flavorings, such as pistachio nuts, cocoa powder, orange juice, vanilla, or chocolate are often added to the basic tahini and sugar base.
Sunflower
Sunflower halva is popular in the countries of the former Soviet Union as well as in Bulgaria and Romania. It is made of roasted ground sunflower seeds instead of sesame. It may include other ingredients, such as nuts, cocoa powder, or vanilla. In 1996 around 4–5 thousand tonnes of sunflower halva were being produced by Ukraine annually.
Peanuts In Argentina, Greek immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century created a kind of halva called mantecol from peanut butter, currently marketed under the name of Mantecol and also Nucrem. Such a product is widely consumed in the country.
Carrots Gajar ka halwa, or gajorer halua, is a popular halva in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is made by slow-cooking grated carrots with milk, sugar, and ghee (clarified butter), often flavored with cardamom and garnished with nuts such as almonds, pistachios, or cashews. Sometimes, khoya (reduced milk solids) or condensed milk is added to enhance its richness and flavor.
Other
Floss halva
Pişmaniye (Turkish) or floss halva is a traditional sweet, prepared in Kocaeli, Turkey, made by flossing thin strands of halva into a light confection. Made primarily of wheat flour and sugar, the strands are continuously wrapped into a ball shape and then compressed. The result is a halva with a light consistency, similar to cotton candy. Floss halva can be found in regular and pistachio flavors, and there are brands with halal or kosher certifications. In Chinese cuisine, a floss-like candy similar to pişmaniye or pashmak halva, known as dragon beard candy, is eaten as a snack or dessert. A raw version of halva also became popular among proponents of raw food diets. In this version, a mixture of raw sesame tahini, raw almonds, raw agave nectar, and salt are blended together and frozen to firm.
Cultural and national variations
Albania Albanian halva (Albanian: hallvë) tends to have flour, sugar, and olive oil and is similar to nougat. It is often topped with nuts.
Armenia Armenian halva tends to have semolina flour, sesame, honey, butter, and sugar.
Azerbaijan
One regional variant is from Sheki, where Şəki halvası halva refers to a layered bakhlava-style pastry filled with spiced-nut mix and topped by crisscrossed patterns of a red syrup made from saffron, dried carrot and beetroot.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
