Recipe for Making Sohan Halwa at Home: Traditional Indian Dessert

During festive seasons or simply when craving something sweet, there is a risk of health deterioration from consuming expensive and counterfeit sweets sold in stores. In such cases, it is recommended to prepare something pure and delicious at home so that everyone praises your treat. You can create a magnificent dessert using rice you have at home and a little mawa (goat cheese).

Texture and Taste Description

This recipe offers the creation of an incredibly soft and velvety burfi made from rice flour and mawa. Rice flour gives the dessert a unique, grainy base, while mawa adds a creamy and luxurious taste. Many mistakenly believe that sweets based on rice flour turn out dry or hard; however, by observing the correct ratio and using tricks, this burfi turns out so tender that it melts in the mouth like butter.

Required Ingredients

To prepare, you will need: 1 cup of rice flour, 1 cup of mawa/mawa (grated), 3/4 cup of sugar (or to taste), 4-5 tablespoons of pure ghee, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder, 2 tablespoons of chopped dried fruits (almonds, pistachios, and cashews), and silver foil leaves (optional, for decoration).

Step-by-Step Dessert Preparation

First, heat 3 tablespoons of ghee in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Then add 1 cup of rice flour and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Stir the flour constantly with a spatula for 5-7 minutes to eliminate any raw taste. It is important that the color of the rice flour does not change; it must remain white. After roasting, transfer the flour to a plate.

Next, add the grated mawa to the same saucepan. Sauté the mawa over low heat for 2-3 minutes until it becomes slightly soft and starts releasing oil. Add the roasted rice flour and half a cup of milk to the sautéed mawa, stirring thoroughly so that both components are evenly combined and no lumps remain.

Then, mix in the sugar and cardamom powder into this mixture. Since sugar melts, the mixture will initially become slightly liquid. It needs to be cooked over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mass thickens, starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and forms a single mass.

Shaping and Cooling

Grease a burfi mold or a flat plate with a small amount of ghee. Pour the hot mixture into the mold and spread it evenly using a spoon or the back of a cup. Carefully arrange the chopped almonds and pistachios on top of the burfi, and if desired, place the silver foil, pressing it lightly. Leave the dessert at room temperature for 1-2 hours to fully set.

Once the burfi has hardened, cut it with a knife into desired square or rectangular pieces. This results in a soft rice-mawa burfi that melts in your mouth.

If you want to prepare something tasty and simple for evening tea, Rajasthani Kalmi Vada is an excellent choice. This appetizing snack is made from various legumes and spices. Its taste becomes even more delightful when combined with a spicy garlic or green sauce.

Ingredient Preparation

The following components are needed for preparation: half a cup of chickpea flour (चने की दाल), two green chilies, one teaspoon of grated ginger, 2–3 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander leaves, a pinch of asafoetida (hing), half a teaspoon of coriander powder, a quarter teaspoon of red chili powder, salt to taste, and oil for frying.

Step-by-Step Cooking Process

First, thoroughly wash the chickpea flour (चने की दाल) and soak it in water for five to six hours or overnight. After that, drain the water and grind the dal in a blender until it reaches a coarse grind. Transfer the ground flour to a large bowl. Add the finely chopped green chilies, grated ginger, chopped coriander, coriander powder, red chili powder, asafoetida, and salt, and then mix everything thoroughly.

Next, small balls (vadas) are formed from this mixture and placed on a plate. Oil is heated in a pot. When the oil is well heated, the vadas are dropped into it and fried over medium heat until golden and crispy. This process is repeated for all the prepared vadas.

Final Processing and Serving

To give the dish a traditional Rajasthani look, the fried vadas are cut into long strips and subjected to a second light fry. This makes the Kalmi Vada even crispier. The ready hot Kalmi Vada is served with spicy garlic sauce, green sauce, or any other favorite sauce.

Making lentil mathri with Rajasthani spices is a simple recipe that allows you to create a tasty and long-lasting snack. This mathri is made from yellow lentils, flour, semolina, and various spices, and it pairs especially well with tea.

Popularity and Benefits of the Snack

Mathri is a popular delicacy in Indian homes, often consumed during evening tea time along with other snacks such as biscuits, salty snacks, or samosas. One of the main advantages of this dish is the ability to prepare it once and store it for several days.

Ingredients for Preparation

The following components are required to make this snack: 1/2 cup of yellow lentils, 1½ cups of wheat flour (maida), 2 tablespoons of semolina (sooji), 3-4 tablespoons of ghee, 1 tablespoon of dried fenugreek, 1 teaspoon of ajwain, a pinch of hing, 1 teaspoon of red pepper powder, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, salt to taste, vegetable oil for frying, and water as needed.

Step-by-Step Cooking Process

First, the lentils must be soaked in water for 4-5 hours. After that, the water is drained, and the lentils are ground into a coarse crumb, ensuring that the paste does not become too runny. Next, the ground lentils, flour, semolina, ghee, dried fenugreek, ajwain, hing, red pepper, turmeric, and salt are mixed in a large bowl. A firm dough is kneaded by adding a little water, which is then covered and left for 15-20 minutes.

Shaping and Frying the Mathri

Subsequently, a thick paste is prepared in a small bowl by mixing a little flour, ghee, or oil with water. Small balls are formed from the dough, or a large sheet is rolled out. The prepared paste is applied onto this sheet, then it is rolled into a roll and cut into small pieces. These pieces are lightly flattened. Oil is heated in a kadai over low heat, and the mathri are fried until golden and crispy. The finished products are placed on paper towels to remove excess oil and allowed to cool completely.

Storing the Finished Product

After cooling completely, the mathri should be stored in an airtight container. This way, the prepared mathri retains its freshness for many days, making the taste of evening tea even more pleasant.