📍 Where this dish comes from: Varanasi · Ghats of the Ganges
Discover the history of this region →
Discover the history of this region →
Halwa is India’s oldest confection — a dense, fudge-like sweet made from flour, ghee, and sugar, cooked until the mixture pulls away from the pan. Almond flour toasted in ghee until golden and deeply nutty is enriched with saffron and cardamom until the whole thing comes together into a warm, almost molten fudge: one of the most aromatic, comforting, and lavishly satisfying things in the entire Indian dessert canon. The almond flour version produces a result with more depth and nuttiness than the traditional semolina version.
What You’ll Need
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 295kcal
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 4 tbsp ghee
- 3 tbsp erythritol
- 1 cup full-fat cream
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- Saffron soaked in 2 tbsp warm water
- Chopped almonds and pistachios to garnish
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan.
- Add almond flour and roast on low heat 8–10 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add cream gradually while stirring — it will splutter.
- Add sweetener, cardamom, and saffron water.
- Cook stirring until halwa pulls away from sides of pan.
- Transfer to serving dish; garnish with nuts.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 295kcal | Protein: 28g | Fat: 7g | Fiber: 2g
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Health Benefits
- Ghee-roasted almond flour produces toasted almond compounds not present in raw flour.
- Cardamom contains compounds studied for their potential role in insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.
- Almond flour provides fiber that may help feed beneficial gut bacteria, including Lactobacillus species.