Khajour ka Halwa

This halwa is my Abbo Jee’s favorite because it combines two of his fav snacks : bhunay chanay and dates .

The art of making a smooth halwa is not a secret ,so for the smoothest halwa all you need is just“ Elbow Power”.Continuous stirring while cooking the halwa results in the silky texture that melts in your mouth .Apart from the almost killing stirring making halwa is a breeze.so the word of caution : do not try this at home unless you have extra arms to assist in stirring

This date halwa is very delicious and tasty so enjoy one or two squares at time unless you need extra energy ( which by the way you will be after stirring and stirring for hours )….

what you need :

• Dates : 500 grams ( weigh after pitting them)
• Milk ( fresh ) : one cup
• Kewra Essence : 2 – 3 drops (optional)
• Cardamom Powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Gram flour ( baysen ) : 2.5 cups
• Sugar : 1/2 cup (optional)
• Oil : 3/4 - 1 cup
• Walnuts : 6 tbsp (chopped)
• Almonds : 6 tbsp (chopped)
• Pistachio : 6 tbsp (chopped)

How to do it :

1. Add kewra essence and cardamom powder in the milk.
2. Warm milk in a nonstick pan . to this add the pitted dates and cook till it becomes soft and mushy.
3. Let this cool a bit and then blend it to a smooth paste and keep aside.
4. In another nonstick pan , heat the oil .
5. Add baysen and roast stirring continuously till baysen turns light brown and gives of a nutty aroma.
6. To this roasted baysen add the blended dates paste and cook on medium flame for five minutes . Sugar test at this stage , add half cup sugar now if its not sweet enough for you.
7. Turn the heat to low and cook the halwa continuously stirring till it starts to leave the sides of the pan , no longer sticky and you can see the oil oozing out of it.
8. Add in half of the chopped dry fruits now and mix well.
9. Turn off the heat .. stir few times to let the steam escape.
10. Transfer the halwa to a lightly greased mould of your choice ( preferably a stainless steel thali ).Smooth it out with the back of a spoon .
11. Let it stand for ten minutes then cut out the diamonds .Sprinkle the rest of the chopped nuts on them.
12. Serve at room temperature or cold with a generous dollop of cream.
13. Enjoy.

Notes :

• You can use vanilla essence instead of Kewra.
• Use whole cardamom instead of powdered if you don't like the taste.
• Use 2 cans of Rainbow milk instead of fresh milk for more richer taste.
• Do not let the halwa unattended even for a minute .. it burns pretty fast.
• As i have said earlier for the smoothest halwa ..do not stop stirring for a second because you don't  want to end up with  burnt halwa.