Halva is a well-known delicacy of oriental cuisine. As a raw material for the preparation of this not very useful, but extremely tasty dessert, we are used to seeing sunflower seeds, but meanwhile halva can be prepared from any seeds and nuts, it is only important that the percentage of oil in them is at least 25%. Below we will talk about how you can make a famous sweet from walnut kernels at home.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
Most experts recommend purchasing inshell nuts for subsequent use, and peeling them immediately before eating or preparing certain dishes from them. In this case, the product is stored longer and does not lose useful properties. In addition, shelled kernels are more expensive, so by abandoning the additional "service", you can save.
A good and fresh product must meet three conditions: be absolutely whole, without cracks and damage, rather heavy and not make any sounds when shaking.
A light and uniform shell is a sign that the drupe has been separated from the green skin covering the surface of the fruit after it has completely dried, that is, in accordance with the recommended harvesting technology. Too light weight or tapping of the kernel inside the drupe indicates that the fruit inside is completely or substantially dried up - such a product is not suitable for preparing homemade masterpieces.
Another way to purchase quality nuts is to contact trusted sellers or be interested in where the tree was grown. For example, speaking of Russia, drupes grown in the Stavropol Territory enjoy a good reputation here.
If halva is supposed to be cooked immediately, you can buy peeled kernels. In this case, it is advisable to choose the largest possible instances of a plain light shade, disassembled into halves (“butterflies”). Finer crushing does not allow us to conclude how high-quality the initial raw material was.An important advantage of the second option is the ability to taste and smell the product. The core should not give off bitterness and smell like prettiness.
Unpeeled nuts before starting to cook must be freed from the shell and internal jumpers, trying to save the extracted drupe in the form of two halves. When acquiring already peeled kernels, you can immediately start cooking a treat, acting in accordance with the recipe below.Did you know? Nuts were always expensive, so in the eastern countries, in the old days, a young man who was going to ask for a girl’s hands tried to take halva as a hotel to his bride’s parents for marriage, showing that he belonged to a wealthy family.
Halva Recipe
10 (1.2 kg) 45 min
water
125 ml (1/2 cup)
Nutritional value per 100 g:
Put the kernels in a completely dry pan and fry over high heat, stirring constantly, for 5–10 minutes. You can dry the nuts in the oven, heated to + 170 ° C. Put the kernels on a sheet of parchment and let cool to room temperature. Peel the kernels from the husk (it is easily removed after frying).
Grind the kernels in a blender or pass them through a meat grinder with a fine wire rack. When working with a blender, it is important to preserve pieces the size of rice grains without chopping nuts to a state of flour, otherwise the mass will stratify with the release of peanut butter, which should not be allowed.
In a small saucepan, mix sugar with water, put on fire, bring to a boil, make sure that the sugar has completely dissolved, then remove the syrup from the heat.
In another pan, melt the butter, combine it with flour and fry over medium heat until golden brown with constant stirring.
Without removing the pan from the heat, add chopped nuts to the mixture and stir until the mass becomes homogeneous. The process takes about 1 min.
Add sugar syrup to the nut mass, quickly stir and keep on fire with constant stirring for another 60 seconds. Put the finished halva in a plastic or silicone form, use a spoon to smooth the surface, and then leave to cool completely.
Put the kernels in a completely dry pan and fry over high heat, stirring constantly, for 5–10 minutes. You can dry the nuts in the oven, heated to + 170 ° C. Put the kernels on a sheet of parchment and let cool to room temperature. Peel the kernels from the husk (it is easily removed after frying).
Grind the kernels in a blender or pass them through a meat grinder with a fine wire rack. When working with a blender, it is important to preserve pieces the size of rice grains without chopping nuts to a state of flour, otherwise the mass will stratify with the release of peanut butter, which should not be allowed.
In a small saucepan, mix sugar with water, put on fire, bring to a boil, make sure that the sugar has completely dissolved, then remove the syrup from the heat.
In another pan, melt the butter, combine it with flour and fry over medium heat until golden brown with constant stirring.
Without removing the pan from the heat, add chopped nuts to the mixture and stir until the mass becomes homogeneous. The process takes about 1 min.
Add sugar syrup to the nut mass, quickly stir and keep on fire with constant stirring for another 60 seconds. Put the finished halva in a plastic or silicone form, use a spoon to smooth the surface, and then leave to cool completely.
Storage Features
Traditional store halva can be stored at room temperature for up to six months, especially if the product is in a vacuum package, the integrity of which is not compromised. But a treat prepared at home, without the use of preservatives and stabilizers, you need to use much faster. The specific shelf life of halva depends on the type of raw material from which it is made, as well as on storage conditions. If walnuts were used as the basis for cooking, the general rules are as follows:
| Storage conditions | Shelf life |
| At room temperature | 1-2 months |
| In fridge | 2-3 months |
| In the freezer | 3-5 months |
The optimal conditions for oriental sweets are a dark place with a temperature regime of + 5 ... + 7 ° С with a relative humidity of 70% maximum. As a package, it is better to use a glass container or a plastic container.
The product can also be stacked in the freezer by first wrapping it with cling film. However, after defrosting, walnut halva can get an unpleasant bitter taste.
You can serve halva to the table as an independent dessert or as an addition to more complex dishes. For example, it can be used as a filling for pies or powders for buns, decorate cakes with it, wrap in tubes of thin puff pastry.
Homemade halva recipe from walnuts is very simple, fast and incredibly tasty. Even a novice hostess can create such a culinary masterpiece in her own kitchen, thereby delighting her loved ones and guests with an exquisite dessert with an unforgettable oriental flavor.
