Winter special halwa

Winter in India is halwa time! The minute it gets chilly, every kitchen starts bubbling with slow-cooked halwas made from winter veggies and nuts. Gajar, lauki, bananas, cornflour and even ash gourd… turning them into pure indulgence. And then, there are almonds, cashews, pistachios, gond and much more, roasted in ghee to make those warm, strength-giving winter halwas our families swear by.

‘Halwa’ comes from the Arabic word ‘hulw’, meaning sweet. It originated from Persia and Arabia as a sweet made with dates and milk. It travelled to India, and then we gave it our own twist with coconut and jaggery. Culturally, halwa holds a ritualistic place in weddings and feasts.

Among the childhood memories close to my heart are the winter vacations spent in my Nani’s house beyond Amritsar. This was a world where life was unhurried, where love lived in everyday things, and where the scent of warmth drifted through the cold air long before we reached Nani’s doorstep.

Every house in the village had five-six cows and buffaloes. Milk was everywhere — fresh, pure. And along with it came one ritual that defined our winter: the making of khoya. Nani would take a huge kadahi, pour in the milk and slow-cook it overnight over cow-dung cakes. At dawn, she would pour the warm khoya into earthen pots and hang it from the ceiling.

And that’s where our little mischief began. We children would stack stools and chairs on top of one another, little ladders built only for one mission: to steal a tiny bit of that khoya. That one sneaked-in bite made our day.

But the true magic, the joy that made our hearts beat faster, was Nani’s gajar ka halwa. Not the 1 kg batch you see today. No! This was 10 kg of desi gajar, lovingly grated, mixed with milk in a giant kadahi, and left to cook slowly through the night. She would cover it with a muslin cloth, and the entire house would be filled with that soul-soothing scent — sweet, warm, familiar, like a lullaby drifting through the cold winter air.

By morning, the kadahi held a treasure — soft carrots melted into milk. Nani would add generous amounts of desi ghee, roast the nuts till aromatic, mix it all together, and then fold in the khoya, letting it simmer slowly for another four to five hours. Time didn’t hurry then. And neither did love.

She’d store the halwa in pots to intensify its flavour. Every day of our stay, we’d get a fresh bowl — awaited with the same excitement as if it were the very first time.

We’ve tasted halwa in countless ways, and honestly, it has its own kind of magic, right? Desi ghee for warmth, ginger powder and nuts to fight the cold — those memories still shape my cooking. At my restaurant, Karigari, our kali gajar ka halwa is my tribute to my Nani, and our newly introduced akhrot-anjeer ka halwa carries that same warmth and heart.

Some memories never fade, and halwa is one of them. Even today, it overwhelms me. Come winter, a warm halwa doesn’t just finish the meal, it completes the moment. And really, who doesn’t love halwa?

Akhrot-Anjeer Ka Halwa

Ingredients

For the Halwa

Anjeer (dried figs) 200 gm

Akhrot (walnuts ) 200 gm

Saffron strands 0.5 gm

Saunf (fennel) powder 5 gm

Sonth (dry ginger powder) 1 gm

Green cardamom powder 5 gm

Water 150 gm

Jaggery 200 gm

Suji 50 gm

Ghee 200 gm

Full cream milk 1 litre

For Pistachio sauce

Pistachio 100 gm

Milk 100 gm

Condensed milk 60 gm

For Garnish

Kataifi (roasted) 15 gm

Pear (dehydrated) 1 slice

Anjeer (dehydrated) 1 slice

Cherry 1

Method

To prepare the pistachio sauce, soak pistachios in hot water for 10 minutes, and then peel them. Add these, along with 40 gm milk, to a blender and make a smooth paste. Transfer it to a pan and cook adding rest of the milk and condensed milk. Mix well. Cook until thick and creamy. Remove to a bowl and keep aside.

For halwa, chop the anjeer and soak in warm water. Drain the water, add 150 gm milk, and grind to a paste. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside. In a saucepan, heat jaggery with water on medium flame until fully melted. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Heat 50 gm ghee in a pan, add the walnuts, mix well, and saute for 2 minutes. Transfer the sauteed walnuts to a grinder jar and pulse coarsely.

Heat the remaining ghee in the same pan. Add suji, mix well, and saute for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add the anjeer paste, mix, and cook for a minute. Add the remaining milk, mix well, and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the crushed walnuts, stir and cook until the milk reduces and the mixture thickens. Add the jaggery water, fennel powder, dry ginger powder, green cardamom powder and saffron. Cook until the halwa leaves the sides of the pan. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Garnish with dehydrated pears, cherry and dehydrated anjeer. Serve warm with pistachio sauce and roasted kataifi toppings.

— The writer is a celebrity chef