Omani cuisine
Omani halwa
حلوى عمانية
A chewy halwa of starch, rosewater and saffron, stirred two hours in a cauldron.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 130 min
- Total
- 155 min
- Difficulty
- Takes practice
Ingredients
- Cornstarch300 g
- Sugar700 g
- Water1.5 l
- Ghee350 g
- Rosewater60 ml
- Saffron1 pinch
- Ground cardamom2 tsp
- Cashews150 g
- Honey100 g
Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.
Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.
Method
- 1
Slake the starch in half the cold water until completely smooth, with no lumps.
10 min
- 2
Boil a syrup from the sugar and the remaining water and bring it to a rolling boil.
12 min
- 3
Pour the starch mixture into the boiling syrup in a thin stream, stirring without stopping.
8 min
- 4
Steep the saffron in a spoon of hot water and add it to the mass with the cardamom.
6 min
- 5
Stir over a low heat for an hour and a half, adding the ghee a little at a time.
95 min
- 6
Work in the honey, rosewater and toasted cashews once the mass starts pulling from the sides.
25 min
- 7
Spread it in a tin in a three-centimetre layer, level it and cool it six hours.
15 min
About the dish
The mass is stirred without a break for two hours. A minute missed means a scorched bottom, and the burnt smell runs through the whole batch.
Readiness is read from the sides: the mass should gather into a single lump and pull away in threads behind the spoon.
Omani halwa is served with cardamom coffee as a mark of hospitality. Refusing it as a guest is a noticeable discourtesy.
Worth knowing
- — Use a heavy-bottomed pot. In a thin one the mass scorches within the first half hour however you stir.
- — Add the ghee a spoon at a time. Poured in at once it will not absorb and sits as a pool on the surface.
- — Cut halwa with a wetted knife. A dry one drags the mass behind it and no clean pieces come of it.
Nutrition
Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 56 g