name of a hugely varied range of confections made in the Middle East, C. Asia, and India, derived from the Arabic root hulw, sweet.
In 7th-century Arabia, the word meant a paste of dates kneaded with milk. By the 9th century, possibly by assimilating the ancient Persian sweetmeat afroshag, it had acquired the meaning of wheat flour or semolina, cooked by frying or toasting and worked into a more or less stiff paste with a sweetening agent such as sugar syrup, date syrup, grape syrup, or honey by stirring the mass together over a gentle heat. Usually a flavouring was added such as nuts, rosewater, or puréed cooked carrots (still a popular flavouring). The finished sweetmeat could be cut into bars or moulded into fanciful shapes such as fish.
Halva spread both eastwards and westwards, with the result that it is made with a wide variety of ingredients, methods, and flavourings.
Halva has struck deep roots in India, and in the northern part of the country it has given its name to the caste of confectioners (the halvais). Semolina provides the base for many easily made Indian versions of halva. The simplest recipe requires semolina to be fried in ghee, mixed with spiced syrup and raisins, and cooked until fluffy. Ghee is added spoonful by spoonful until the mixture will not absorb any more, and the mixture is often served still warm from cooking. ‘Bombay’ halva uses this base with addition of spices (saffron, cardamom) and nuts (almonds, pistachios). ‘Madras’ halva is similar, but substitutes poppy-seeds and coconut for the flavourings.
Indian halvas may be made without grain, using other basic ingredients. Thus sathi (zedoary flour) may be used instead of semolina; or vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, beetroots, winter melons, yams, and squashes may be cooked in cream to a dense, pasty consistency and used as snacks or desserts. Fruit halvas are heavily sweetened purées, made from such fruits as bananas, unripe papayas, or oranges, and served with fried biscuits or breads. Puréed lentils, mung beans, and peanuts are also used as halva bases, as is curd or thick egg custard stiffened with coconut. Nuts, dried fruits, coconut, rosewater, and spices such as saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg are freely used for flavoring these sweets.
In Nepal, where the carrot and flour types of halva are usual, there is an unsweetened dish made of pounded barley, ghee, water, and salt only. This is no more than a consolidated porridge, but though unsweet is locally considered a type of halva.
Semolina halva is the usual type in the Middle East, where it is diversified by the addition of nuts, dried fruits, coconut, yoghurt, honey, and spices and other flavourings.
Some Turkish and Greek halvas, however, are made without grain and derive their texture from the combination of cooked egg (yolk or white) and solidified syrup. Nuts are always included, whether whole, chopped, or ground, and sometimes dried or candied fruit.
The halva best known in Europe and N. America is another non-grain type, sesame halva. This is a by-product of sesame oil production, made by grinding the solid remains of the sesame seeds finely, sweetening them with sugar syrup or honey, and pressing the mixture into a solid cake. Sometimes it is embellished with whole almonds or pistachios.
Between the Levantine sesame confections and the Indian vegetable pastes lie a rich variety of halva recipes from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and C. Asia. Halawat tamr, an Iraqi sweetmeat, is a mixture of dates, almonds, and walnuts, chopped and kneaded together. A Syrian version of semolina halva, called maʾmounia, is a speciality of Aleppo, where it is a popular breakfast dish. Basbousa is the name given to a similar dish made in Egypt. Karachi halva, made from sugar syrup, cornflour, and ghee, produces a result a little like Turkish delight. To western palates, almond versions of halva such as halawah bil loz, made in Iraq, are reminiscent of marzipan.
In addition to the usual semolina paste, there are in C. Asia such varieties as halwa-i tar, a liquid variety served in bowls; badråk halwa, made from maize flour, honey, and walnuts; and maghiz halwa, a sort of brittle made by pouring hot syrup over nuts.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
