Bread Halwa / Halva

Absolutely yummy, 'melts-in-your-mouth' and 'close-your-eyes-and-eat' kinda recipe!

Here's a little something about me. I've had no prior professional culinary training or experience. The closest I have come to the gastronomy business is when I 'part-timed' as a waitress for incentives as a student. So, when I started cooking, I relied to a great deal on my mother and of course Google for all the techniques and recipes. Today, I understand the art of cookery to a a great extent and can modestly state that I have, to a certain extent mastered it; but the bottom line is that I do not create and make all recipes in this blog 'on my own'. With millions of recipes out there in the web and safeguarded within families, it is quite apparent, isn't it?

I do a lot of research online, get ideas from family and friends, watch food documentaries and videos, find inspiration in blogs and as a result create my recipes. I sometimes even simply borrow original  recipes from friends and families. After all, sharing makes things more fun !

As we talk about sharing, here is a recipe of a unique Indian dessert - Bread Halwa. Interestingly, halwa is also a confection brought to India by Persians, centuries ago (so, sharing). I got this recipe from Lincy, a friend of mine, with whom I have lasted for 10 years now. We survived 4 years of bachelor studies together in a dingy dorm room. I remember our occasional trips to the kitchen in an attempt to prepare instant-noodles, which was at that time, a satisfying indulgence. And now here we are, master chefs in our own kitchens and sharing recipes.

Coming back (:P)...before she mentioned bread halwa to me, I was unaware of it but I had to give it a try because it simple 'sounded' so yummy! This recipe is an interestingly western take on the popular Indian sweet and can be easily made with simple ingredients off the kitchen shelf. With oodles of ghee and sugar, this recipe is far from 'healthy' but definitely a cheat-day treat.

Just as a sweet snack or delectable dessert after an elaborate meal, this is a great recipe to try!!!

THE RECIPE

Category: Dessert

Style: Indian Fusion

Servings:  2

Ingredients:

 - 5 slices white bread

 - 1/4 cup sugar

 - 1 cup water

 - 1/4 cup milk

 - 1 tablespoon cashews or nuts for garnish

 - 5 tablespoons oil /ghee to fry

Instructions:

1. Trim off the thick edges of the bread slices and cut them roughly into small pieces.

2. Heat oil or ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add in the bread pieces and fry until golden brown from all sides. Keep turning the pieces around to burn the pieces as that imparts a bitter flavor. Remove them and keep aside.

3. In the same pan, add sugar and water and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to bubble, add the fried bread pieces and let them soak. Do not reduce heat.

4. After about 5 minutes, use a ladle to mash the sugar syrup soaked bread pieces. Constantly mash the bread pieces until a dough like texture is achieved.

5. Add in milk, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir and mash every 5 minutes in between.

6. The trick is to cook the halwa until it starts to ooze out all the oil or ghee. The halwa reaches a sticky consistency and forms into a lump. That's when it is done.

7. You can extract excess oil from the halwa using a spoon. I removed almost 2 tablespoons of oil.

8. Use the leftover oil in the same pan to roast cashews and nuts .

9. Garnish the halwa with roasted nuts and serve. It is best served slightly warm.

Notes:

 - The extremely health-conscious ones can also toast the bread but you will have to compromise on the taste as well!

 - For a vegan version, simply skip the milk and use vegan bread.