This is famous in Thiruvaiyaru, a town near Thanjavur. This halwa is served in almost all the weddings in Thanjavur.
Asoka Halwa
Course: SweetsCuisine: Indian, Tamil, ThanjavurDifficulty: Medium
Servings
10
servingsPrep time
5
minutesCooking time
25
minutesThis Halwa is made with different combination of Moong dhal, wheat flour and ghee. Following is my version:
Ingredients
Green Gram Dal (Moong Dal) – 1 cup
Wheat flour – 1 cup
Sugar – 2 cups
Ghee – 1 cup
Orange/Red food colour – few drops
Cardamoms – 8 (powdered)
Cashew nuts – 10 to 15 (broken into bits and fried in ghee)
Directions
- In a kadai put the dal and dry fry for few minutes. Remove it before it changes its colour. Pressure cook the dal in enough water (2 cups water approx.) till soft. Mash the cooked dal nicely. Mashed dal should be of semi liquid consistency.
- In a kadai pour one or two tablespoon ghee and when it is hot add the wheat flour and fry till nice aroma comes out.
- Add the cooked dal and mix well. Allow to cook in a medium flame.
- Add sugar and stir well.
- Add food colour and mix well.
- Add ghee little by little and keep stirring.
- When it leaves the sides of the kadai, add cardamom powder, fried cashew nuts and the remaining ghee and stir well.
- Now remove from stove. Transfer to a greased bowl.
Notes
- This halwa can be prepared without adding wheat flour also. In such case, reduce the Sugar quantity.