Halva recipe for kids & toddlers

Halva recipe – Halva is a dessert popular in the middle east and south Asian countries. This is an easy, delicious and healthy halva made with lentils, jaggery or brown sugar, nuts and ghee. There are few halwa recipes like carrot halwa or pumpkin halwa, which need quite a lot of effort to cook. But this lentil halva can be made in a jiffy since it requires no planning no grating no blending etc.

I had shared a traditional moong dal halwa recipe earlier but was made with sugar and method of preparation is completely different.

This recipe is good when we do not have much time and want to make something healthy without the use of refined sugar.

Halva recipe | Indian halva with jaggery

Indian style halva made with lentils, ghee, nuts and jaggery. This halva is not only delicious but is also healthy.

Prep Time2 minutes

Cook Time28 minutes

Total Time30 minutes

Servings3

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

• ½ cup yellow petite lentils or mung dhal
• 1 ½ cups water
• ½ to ¾ cup jaggery / brown sugar/ palm jaggery (prefer organic & unrefined)
• ¼ tsp elaichi / green cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp ghee solid or 2 to 2.5 tbsp melted ghee
• Cashews or nuts as desired

How to make the recipe

Preparation

• Dry roast lentils on a low flame until aromatic. Rinse very well and cook with 1.5 cups water until smooth.
• It can be cooked in a pressure cooker for 2 to 3 whistles on a medium flame.
• Mash the lentils very well and add the sweetener along with cardamom powder.
• Cook on a low heat stirring often for few mins for the sweetener to dissolve completely.

How to make halva

• Heat ghee in a pan and fry nuts until golden. Set the nuts aside and add the ghee to halva . Stir and cook for 2 to 3 mins.
• Halva will turn thicken once it cools
• Garnish with nuts. Best served hot or warm. If needed to reheat, add little water into the pot until bubbly.

NUTRITION

Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 305mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2.7mg

Preparation

1. Dry roast lentils on a low to medium flame until aromatic. Rinse it very well a few times until the water runs clear.

2. Add water and cook it. You can cook it in a pot or a pressure cooker. I went the easy way using a pressure cooker.

Cooked it for 2 whistles on a medium flame. You may need to cook for longer or more whistles depending on the kind of lentils used.

3. It must be cooked soft and mushy. Mash it well if you desire.

4. Add your sweetener and cardmom / elaichi powder. For the sweetener, you can use jaggery, jaggery syrup, organic brown sugar or organic pure palm jaggery or coconut sugar. I have used organic palm jaggery. Make sure your sweetener is clean & free from debris.

5. Allow to cook until it melts and begins to bubble well.

How to make halva

6. Meanwhile in a small pan, Heat ghee and fry cashews and raisins (optional). You can also add a crushed clove now, it emits a very good aroma. I forgot to add it.

7. I used sliced pistachios, so I added them later to prevent burning.

8. Set aside your nuts and add the halva to the pan. Alternately, you can just pour the hot ghee to your halva. I have a kid who is teething so I choose to cook the nuts for a while to soften them.

Continue to cook it with ghee for 3 to 4 mins to add aroma and taste. You can also add more ghee or add little more water to bring it to consistency.

Garnish with roasted nuts and serve warm. This halva hardens when cooled down. So it is good to serve while warm or heat up with little water stirred in to it.