Halwa Puri

Ingredients

Halwa

• 200 gcoarse semolina
• 200 gghee
• 250 gsugar
• 750 mlwater
• 6cardamom pods, crushed
• a pinch of saffron
• 50 galmonds and pistachios, slivered

Puri

• 400 gplain flour
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 tbspoil
• 220 mlwarm water
• oil, for deep frying

Cholay

• 400 gchickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1black tea bag
• 2onions, sliced
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbspginger garlic paste
• 2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspred chilli powder
• 1 tspgaram masala
• 1 tspanardana
• salt

Aloo bhujia

• 4potatoes
• 1 tspcumin seed
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspred chilli powder
• 1 sprigcurry leaves

To serve

• lemon wedges
• green chillies

Directions

1. Start the night before by soaking the chickpeas, and if you can, make the cholay a day ahead as well, because it is better for sitting. Boil the chickpeas with a black tea bag until completely soft, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Fry the onions until deep brown, add the ginger garlic paste and the ground spices, then the tomatoes, and cook until the oil separates.
2. Wait for the oil to separate and pool at the edges. Until it does, the masala is not cooked and the curry tastes raw however long you simmer it afterwards. Add the chickpeas with their black cooking water and simmer 30 minutes, mashing a few against the side of the pot to thicken it.
3. Finish with the garam masala and anardana and set it aside. For the aloo, boil and cube the potatoes, then fry them with the cumin seed, turmeric, chilli and curry leaves until they catch at the edges.
4. Melt the ghee in a heavy pan and add the semolina. Roast the semolina in the ghee over a medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns golden and smells nutty. Roast it properly and do not rush it. Take the pan off the heat, stand back, and pour in all the hot syrup at once. Stand well back.
5. Return it to a low heat and stir until it thickens and the ghee begins to glisten at the edges, about 8 minutes, then cover and rest 10 minutes and stir in the nuts. For the puri, make a stiff dough with the flour, salt, oil and warm water, knead it 8 minutes, and rest it 30 minutes.
6. Keep the puri dough stiff. A soft dough drinks oil and the puris come out heavy and greasy rather than light and puffed. Roll small balls into discs about 12 cm across, oiling the pin and board rather than dusting with flour.
7. Heat the frying oil to 190°C (375°F), slide in one puri, and press it gently under the surface with a slotted spoon. Turn it once it has puffed and gone golden, fry 20 seconds more, and lift it out. Serve everything together on one tray: hot puris, a bowl of halwa, a bowl of cholay and a bowl of aloo, with lemon and green chilli.

Technique

• Sweet and savoury in the same meal is the defining feature and not a matter of taste.
• Puris go straight from the oil to the plate. Stacked or held, they deflate and turn leathery.
• The cholay is better on the second day, which is exactly why it is made ahead.

Substitutions

• Tinned chickpeas, with a tea bag simmered separately for the colour.
• Fine semolina, giving a smoother, denser halwa.

Variations

• With keema in place of the cholay.
• Chole bhature, the close Indian relative with a leavened fried bread.
• With lassi rather than tea alongside.

History

Weekend and Eid breakfast of semolina halwa with chickpea and potato curries, sold from dawn by halwai shops in Lahore and Karachi.

Frequently asked questions

What is Halwa Puri?

Halwa Puri is a breakfast from Pakistan: weekend spread of fried puris, semolina halwa and chickpea curry. Weekend and Eid breakfast of semolina halwa with chickpea and potato curries, sold from dawn by halwai shops in Lahore and Karachi.

How long does Halwa Puri take to make?

Halwa Puri takes 1 hr plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Halwa Puri?

Yes, within limits. Tinned chickpeas, with a tea bag simmered separately for the colour. Fine semolina, giving a smoother, denser halwa.

What is the most important thing to get right in Halwa Puri?

Melt the ghee in a heavy pan and add the semolina. Roast the semolina in the ghee over a medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns golden and smells nutty. Roast it properly and do not rush it. Take the pan off the heat, stand back, and pour in all the hot syrup at once. Stand well back.