Karachi Halwa Recipe/ Cornflour Halwa Recipe/ Custard Powder Halwa/ How to make Karachi Halwa

Some sweets always make you wonder…how was this made?… How was the texture so?! So on and so forth. I too wondered about Karachi Halwa or Cornflour Halwa…until the day I found a recipe some months ago! 💃 

Diwali is around the corner and sweets are a must have! So this seems like a good option to try other recipes from my blog….Kaju Katli, Anjeer Burfi, Mava Burfi, Dhoodh Peda, Kesari Phirni.  

This recipe has been been sitting in my bookmarks ever since…waiting to be tried. But the timing never seemed right. So, when Diwali approached, I thought to myself that I should try it out soon..and the festivities around me seem like the perfect excuse to go for it! ☺️

The texture is so soft, and not at all heavy on the palate. Slightly chewy, as it should be…and the crunchy bits of cashews just adds more flavour to it 👌👌😊

I was pleasantly surprised to see that making it is absolutely hassle free…very little prepping is needed. It’s safe to say that it basically prepares itself! 😬😬😛 ..Let’s start the recipe..

Yield: 17-18 pieces

Equipment: a non stick pan, a wire whisk, measuring cups/ spoons, a tray, a sharp knife, a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cornflour OR vanilla flavoured custard powder

1+1/2 cups water

a few drops of food colour (I used Orange Kesari)

1+1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

2 tbsp ghee

1/4 tsp elaichi pwd

3 tbsp chopped cashew nuts

a few slivers of pistachio to garnish

Method:

Grease a tray with some ghee and keep it ready to set the Karachi Halwa

In a mixing bowl, add the cornflour/ custard powder + 1+1/2 cups of water. Also add the colour and whisk these well. Ensure there are no lumps in the mixture. Set it aside.

Next, in the non stick pan, add the sugar & 1 cup of water. Turn on the heat and these melt together. Stir it with a wooden spoon a couple of times. This needs to be done on medium flame. There is no need to get any thread consistency here. Just that the sugar must melt completely and the mixture should be bubbly and frothy. It must thicken slightly and be sticky. Once such a texture is achieved, stir in the cornflour/ custard powder and water mixture in the sugar syrup while stirring all the time so that there are no lumps. In 3-4 mins, you will see that the mixture has started to thicken and has turned glossy in certain parts. Keep stirring continuously.

Now, add the elaichi pwd and the ghee too. Keep stirring and mixing everything together. The texture will thicken more at this stage and become gluey. It will take another 5-6 mins for this. You will see the mixture slowly leaving the sides of the pan. Keep stirring without stopping as this stage is crucial and if you don’t stir, you will end up with lumps all over. Now add the chopped cashews (you can fry and add these, I didn’t fry it). Mix in the cashews quickly. Now you will see that the mixture is beginning to set if you stop stirring it.

Immediately pour the mixture on the greased tray and flatten it out a little bit. Garnish it with some slivers of pistachio. And let it set for at least an hour, at room temperature for the first 20 mins and then in the refrigerator. Once it’s set, use a sharp knife and cut it in any desired shapes. That’s it, it is ready😀 it keeps well in fridge for about 5-6 days.

Hope you will enjoy these soon.

Happy Diwali 🎊🎊😊

Love,

Shreya💗

Adapted from Sharmis Passions