Halua ya Zanzibar

Ingredients

The base

• 250 gwheat starch
• or 250 g cornflour
• 1.5 litreswater
• juice of 1 lemon

Syrup

• 700 gsugar
• 400 mlwater

To enrich

• 250 gghee
• or 250 g clarified butter
• 2 teaspoonsground cardamom
• a large pinch of saffron
• 1 teaspoonrose water, optional
• a few drops of food colouring, optional

Nuts

• 100 galmonds, blanched
• 100 gpistachios
• 100 gcashews
• toasted lightly

Directions

1. Put the wheat starch in a large bowl. Add the water gradually while whisking. Whisk it until completely smooth. Any lumps now will never disperse. Add all of the lemon juice to it. Let it stand for thirty minutes. The lemon juice keeps the sugar from crystallising.
2. Put the sugar and water in a large heavy pan. Warm it until the sugar dissolves completely. Bring the whole syrup up to a boil. Let it boil for about five minutes. It should be a light syrup, not a caramel.
3. Crush the saffron in a small bowl. Add two spoonfuls of warm water. Let it steep for a good ten minutes. Combining them takes real care. Whisk the starch mixture again. Pour it slowly into the boiling syrup. Whisk hard and constantly as you pour. Turn the heat right down to low.
4. Stir it constantly with a wooden spoon. Never stop stirring at any point. Add the ghee a spoonful at a time. Stir each spoonful in completely. Wait until it is absorbed before adding more. Adding it too fast leaves it swimming in fat. Keep going until all the ghee is in. Add the saffron with its liquid. Add the ground cardamom to it. Add the rose water if using it.
5. Add the colouring if you want it. Judging when it is done is the whole skill. Stir in most of the toasted nuts. Keep some of them back for the top. Stir them all through quickly. Setting it takes several hours. Grease a shallow tray with ghee. Pour the hot halwa out into it.
6. Spread it out with a greased spatula. Work fast, since it stiffens as it cools. Press the remaining nuts into the top. Let it cool completely at room temperature. Give it at least four full hours.
7. Cut it into small diamonds or squares. Dip the knife in hot water between cuts. Wipe the blade dry every time. Layer it with greased paper between. It sticks together badly otherwise.

Technique

• Oman took control of Zanzibar in sixteen ninety-eight and moved the sultan’s capital there in eighteen forty, bringing Omani and Arab cooking with it; Zanzibar was also a major slave-trading centre under that rule, ended in the later nineteenth century, and the halwa is one lasting culinary trace of the period.
• This is a starch-set halwa rather than a nut paste one, closer in texture to Turkish delight than to tahini halva, and the family runs across the Middle East and India.
• The mixture must be stirred without stopping for at least an hour, traditionally in huge copper pans with wooden paddles, since the starch catches and burns immediately if stirring stops.

Substitutions

• Cornflour stands in for wheat starch, giving a slightly softer set.
• Any mixture of almonds, pistachios and cashews works for the nuts.

Variations

• Zanzibar halwa is often coloured deep amber, green or red.
• Some makers add more cardamom and others more rose water.
• Similar starch halwas are made across the Middle East and in India.

History

Made in Zanzibar since the Omani sultanate, stirred for hours in copper pans; the recipe follows Middle Eastern halwa closely.

Frequently asked questions

What is Halua ya Zanzibar?

Halua ya Zanzibar is a dessert from Tanzania: sticky translucent sweet of wheat starch, ghee, cardamom and nuts. Made in Zanzibar since the Omani sultanate, stirred for hours in copper pans; the recipe follows Middle Eastern halwa closely.

How long does Halua ya Zanzibar take to make?

Halua ya Zanzibar takes 30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one tray, about 40 pieces. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Halua ya Zanzibar?

Yes, within limits. Cornflour stands in for wheat starch, giving a slightly softer set. Any mixture of almonds, pistachios and cashews works for the nuts.

What is the most important thing to get right in Halua ya Zanzibar?

Put the wheat starch in a large bowl. Add the water gradually while whisking. Whisk it until completely smooth. Any lumps now will never disperse. Add all of the lemon juice to it. Let it stand for thirty minutes. The lemon juice keeps the sugar from crystallising.