Have you tried Atte ka Halwa?

Atta ka halwa
Aate ka Halwa
Atte ka Halwa- Home made deliciousness

One delicacy which has always tempted me is Atte ka Halwa. I have this firm conviction that no one makes it better than my mom. But then now that she is not there, I have tried my hand at it. There was no option for me, either I had to make it myself or keep on yearning for it. I am yet to find a sweet shop here in Kolkata which sells it. Even in Bihar I doubt it is available in the market. This is typically a home food.  One note of caution, this is halwa and that too atte ka halwa, so diet conscious people should steer clear from it.

Atte ka Halwa Recipe

You would need pure ghee or vanaspati, no white oil please, that would just kill the taste. Fine grained sugar, wheat flour and dry fruits (optional) are the other ingredients.

In a karahi or wok heat ghee and add the wheat flour, keep on stirring continuously. You are not allowed to stop even for a second, if one hand starts paining, use the other hand, but let this continue or else the atta will burn and your halwa will go for a toss. This is the most difficult part of the preparation. Now you need to keep on roasting till the atta attains a reddish tinge and there is a lovely aroma in your kitchen. Remove from fire and keep on stirring. Ask someone to pour sugar in this while you stir.  The proportion of sugar depends on how sweet you want your halwa. Now add a liberal amount of ghee and again keep the wok on slow fire, keep on stirring. The sugar should mix well with the atta. After this slowly add water, so that the atta takes the shape of halwa. Don’t add too much water, just enough to bind the atta loosely. Add more ghee and stir on slow fire.  Remove from fire. When you serve it you can garnish it with dry fruits. My advice is to eat it as it is without the dry fruits.  Atta ka Halwa goes best with stuffed red chilly pickle. Sometimes people keep the halwa in a greased tray and cut it in the shape of barfis as well.