Halva (ะฅะฐะปะฒะฐ), the rich, crumbly dessert well-loved across many cultures, is so densely filling it almost manages to feel like a meal โ and not an entirely unhealthy one at that. There are more than one hundred types of halva,ย which is generally ground and sweetened nuts and/or seeds.
Its role as a staple dessert extends across so many centuries and cultures that it can hardly be said to belong to any one nationality. Enjoyed and widely available in shops and bazaars across the former Soviet Union, however, it is there most associated with Central Asia, the entry point from which halvaย made its way to Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Central Asia is historically and geographically closer to Turkish, Arabic, and Indian halva-eating cultures.
Halva gets its name from the Arabic word โhalwa,โ meaning sweets or desserts. The origins of halva are disputed, although many Russian-language sources claim that it originated in Iran as many as 2500 years ago.
In the 7th century, it seems the word referred to a paste of dates and milk in Arabia, and by the 9th century it indicated a paste made of flour and sugar. Now, halva can refer to two categories of sweets. One is a gelatinous mix of fried flour and sugar, popular in Greece, India and the Middle East. The other, the one most popular in the former USSR, is made of nut or seed butter and sugar, and is popular in the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and parts of the Middle East and India. In some countries, halvaย is also made from fruits or carrots.
In Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, halva is called โะปะฐะฒะท.โ There, it comes in two versions. The soft version is made from sugar syrup, egg white, and sesame seeds. The solid version is made by adding sesame seeds to pulled sugar. Pulled sugar is produced by boiling sugar and water, and then churning the cooked sugar until it turns into a white, thick, flexible substance.
How and When to Eat Halva
(ะะฐะบ ะฟัะฐะฒะธะปัะฝะพ ะตััั ั ะฐะปะฒั?)
In the post-Soviet world, halva almost exclusively refers to a seed- or nut-based version of the dessert. Sesame is a common base, as are sunflower seeds. Sunflower halva is a particularly Eastern European variety, since sunflower seeds are widely grown and consumed in Eastern Europe. Nut halvaย is also common and can be made from walnuts, peanuts, or pistachios, to name a few varieties.
Marketplaces and bazaars across the former USSR will often have sellers offering large blocks of halva of varying colors, spotted with nuts or raisins, which can be bought by weight. Halvaย is also mass-produced by most major confectioners operating in the former USSR and sold in stores and shops as smaller chocolate-covered bars or as pre-packaged blocks.
It is also used as an ingredient in candies and cakes. Moscow confectionery company ะ ะพั ะคัะพะฝั (โRed Front,โ from German) makes halva candies โ small cubes of halva coated in chocolate, and wrapped in shiny red-and-gold foil โ that are particularly popular. Wafer cookies, or โะฒะฐัะปะธ,โ with layers of halva are another well-known treat. Russian recipes for home-made halva cakes vary, but many involve layers of cream made from combined halvaย and condensed milk (ัะณัััะฝะบะฐ).
Marketplaces in Russia and Central Asia are usually stocked with a large assortment of ั ะฐะปะฒะฐ.
Nut or seed halva, when mass-produced, consists of three primary ingredients: ground nuts or seeds; sugar, honey, or molasses; and a foaming agent such as licorice root, soapwort, or marshmallow root. The foaming agent helps create the fibrous, layered consistency so specific to halva. Other flavoring ingredients, such as chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla, or dried fruits may also be added.
In Russia, halva is more often bought than prepared at home. In other countries, however, making halva by hand is a long-standing tradition. In Uzbekistan, the term โะบะฐะฝะดะฐะปะฐััะธโ refers specifically to someone who knows the secret of preparing halva, for instance.
Making halva in a modern kitchen is in fact relatively simple. Honey is used more often in โะดะพะผะฐัะฝัั ั ะฐะปะฒะฐโ (home-made ั ะฐะปะฒะฐ) than in mass-produced versions. Some recipes for โัะฐั ะธะฝะฝะฐั ั ะฐะปะฒะฐโ (tahini halva) are as simple as combining tahini (sesame paste) and honey. Others include egg whites, and still others call for flour, butter, and/or milk.
Massproduced by RotFront, a Russian confectioner, these are bite-size pieces of individually-wrapped ั ะฐะปะฒะฐ.
Given the long history and great geographic span of the food, there are many, many different ways to make.
Letโs Cook!
(ะะฐะฒะฐะน ะฟัะธะณะพัะพะฒะธะผ!)
You can generally find tahini in the ethnic foods aisle of many grocery stores or in shops specializing in Middle Eastern or Asian foods. You can also make your own relatively easily by combining 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil per cup of sesame seeds and running that through a food processor until it is a homogenous paste.
The simplest recipe for sesame halvaย involves simply mixing honey and tahini paste in a 1:1.5 ratio (i.e. 1 tbsp honey and 1.5 tbsp tahini). After a few hours in the refrigerator, the mixture will solidify.
If you would like to try something a little more complex, the following recipe is the next step up.
See below for a free recipe for halva. See also the free videos online. If you are interested in cooking from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and other places in Eurasia, make sure to see our full, free Eurasian Cookbook online! You might also be interested in the following specialized cookbooks weโve enjoyed:
In order to make the dish sweet (since tahini is absolutely unsweetened), you will need either honey or sugar syrup, boiled until it becomes a soft caramel. If you want to use honey, the amount should be one-to-one with the tahini. If you use syrup, boil the sugar and water down to a thick syrup, but donโt let the color change. The syrup should thicken slightly and bubble while boiling (boil for 6-8 minutes).
While the syrup is boiling, prepare the nuts: shell, and lightly roast in a dry frying pan.
Coarsely grind the nuts. Pour nuts and vanilla into the syrup, mix and boil for 1 minute.
Remove the mixture from the heat, add tahini, and thoroughly mix to a paste.
Grease a mold or dish, and fill it with the halva mixture; pack firmly.
Leave in the refrigerator for 2-3 days to allow the sugar to crystallize.
Remove from mold, slice or break into pieces, and enjoy!
ย
If you would like to try something a little more complex, the following recipe is the next step up.
Pour sesame seeds into a dry, wide, preferably Teflon frying pan and put it over medium heat. With a wooden spatula, begin to toast the sesame seeds, stirring vigorously. When the sesame seeds acquire a light gold or light brown color, remove the pan from heat. Pour sesame seeds into a deep, dry dish and allow to cool to room temperature.
Put the pan over medium heat again and sift the flour into it through a fine sieve. Fry the flour to a light yellow color, vigorously stirring it with the spatula. Once the flour has browned, transfer to another deep dish and let cool completely.
When the roasted sesame seeds are cool, pour into the clean, dry bowl of a blender and grind at the highest speed until smooth. Then, combine the ground sesame and fried flour in a large bowl with vegetable oil and mix until smooth.
Now pour the pasteurized milk into a small saucepan, and add the two sugars, regular and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and set over medium heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, and cook for a couple of minutes until foam forms, and remove from heat.
Pour the hot milk and sugar syrup into the bowl with the sesame, flour and oil mixture. Mix all the ingredients again until smooth.
Spread the resulting mixture on a large, damp platter, baking sheet or cutting board. Flatten with clean hands to a thickness of 1-2 centimeters, and let stand at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.
When the halva has cooled completely, cut into pieces โ these can be diamonds, stripes, or squares. Serve the dessert!
Toast the walnuts. Remove the shells, rubbing them between your hands, and break the nuts into pieces (or crush them).
Boil the honey over medium heat until a drop of it thickens when poured into cold water. Then remove from flame, add nuts, and mix. While the halva is hot, pour quickly into a pre-greased dish.
Toast walnuts and mince. [Boil sugar and water to a thick syrup, 6-8 minutes. While syrup is boiling,] melt butter in a pot, add flour, and stir with a wooden spatula, frying until golden. Reduce heat and, stirring, add nuts and fry for one minute.
Without removing the pot from the heat, add the hot sugar syrup, and mix until smooth.
Pour the hot halva onto a greased surface. Form the paste into a circle or square 2.5-3 cm thick. When it has cooled slightly, cut into diamonds. Can be served with honey.
Our Favorite Halva Videos
This is a simple version of โัะฐั ะธะฝะฝะฐั ั ะฐะปะฒะฐ.โ The primary ingredients are ground sesame seeds and honey, but the chef adds a spoonful of coffee grounds for extra flavor.
ย
This video is largely wordless (with a bit of Uzbek heard) but it is a fascinating look at the traditional recipe for halvaย still used in Uzbekistan. Ingredients are measured out on a balance, and sugar is whipped into a thick foam in a large cauldron.
ย
This video, from a Russian program devoted to science and technology, has excellent, mouthwatering clips of sunflower halvaย being mass-produced using a traditional recipe in Tver. Chefs hand-stir the mixture of syrup, seeds, and soapwort until it reaches the perfect consistency.
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How โHalvaโ Got Its Name
