Halva

Halva (also halvah, halwa, halua) is a type of confectionery that is spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, East Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, Central Asia, and South Asia. The name refers to a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made from flour, butter, oil, saffron, rosewater, milk, turmeric powder, and sugar.

The word halva entered the English language between 1840 and 1850 from Romanian, which came from Ottoman Turkish: حلوى, romanized: helva, itself ultimately derived from Arabic: حلوى, romanized: ḥalwā, a sweet confection. The root in Arabic: ح ل و, romanized: ḥ-l-w, means "sweet". The Persian name for the confection is Persian: روغن خورديگ, romanized: rōɣæn xordīg, meaning "oil food".

Halva originated in Persia (modern day Iran). By the 9th century, the term was applied to numerous kinds of sweets, including the now-familiar sweetened cooked semolina or flour paste.

The first recipes of halva were documented in the 13th century Arabic cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes), as well as an anonymous cookbook from 13th-century Al-Andalus. Halva was adopted by the Ottoman Turks, including a sesame-based version, and spread throughout their empire.

Most types of halva are relatively dense confections sweetened with sugar or honey. Their textures, however, vary. For example, semolina-based halva's texture can be like a very buttery, moist clumpy couscous to something gelatinous and translucent, while sesame-based halva is drier and more crumbly.

Grain-based halva is made by toasting flour or cornstarch in oil, mixing it into a roux, and then cooking it with a sugary syrup. Corn is rarely used.

Dishes made from wheat semolina include Suji ka Halva in India, Pakistan, Shujir Halua in Bangladesh and irmik helvası in Turkey. In both dishes, semolina is toasted in fat, either oil or butter, and then mixed with water or milk and sugar to achieve the desired flavor and consistency. Wheat-based sohan halwa in northern India and Pakistan is a renowned delicacy made by combining wheat flour with milk, sugar, clarified butter, cardamom, saffron, and nuts such as almonds and pistachios. The mixture is slow-cooked, allowing the sugar to caramelize, which gives Sōhan halvā its unique firm and brittle texture.

Dairy-based rice flour halva, known as Pathein halawa, is considered a Burmese delicacy native to the city of Pathein.