Jan 4, 2011

Almond and dates halwa

‘A Very Happy And healthy New Year ‘ to all readers from Healthy Slurps. What better way to start a New year than with a sweet dish! If the sweet can also pack in a healthy punch - well, I can’t ask for more. Here is a super simple, yummy recipe for an un – put – downable halwa. Go ahead, start the new year with a BANG!! with this melt in the mouth creation….I must thank my dear sis-in-law, Deepa for giving me this recipe.
Almond and dates halwa
You need
  1. Whole almonds with skin – 1 cup
 whole almonds     chopped dates    skim milk    melted butter 
  1. Seedless soft dates – chopped fine, 1 cup ( I used Lion seedless dates)
  2. Skim milk, boiled – 1 cup ( I used 3% milk)
  3. White cooking butter, melted – 1 cup
  4. Sugar – 2 cups
To assemble
  1. Warm the almonds lightly in a microwave, this helps quick powdering. Use the pulse button in your mixer, and pulse grind the almonds to a soft powder along with the skin. The powder should look like this-
powdered almonds
  1. Take a heavy bottomed sauce pan or use a non-stick pot.
  2. Pour in all five ingredients together into the pot.ready to be halwaed!
  3. Stir the contents over fire. You can start off with a high flame, and then reduce flame to medium once the ingredients are incorporated well together and begin to bubble.
  4. It took me 15 minutes of stirring continuously over medium flame to complete cooking the halwa.
  5. The halwa is done when it starts frothing around the sides of the pot and begins to leave the sides.Remove to a storage bowl immediately.
  6. This does not need any garnishing, and can be served spooned warm. Perfect for cold wintry weekend treats!
Creamy, frothy slurrpy halwa
Notes
  • Take care to pulse grind almond powder – avoid extracting almond oil !
  • Chop dates as fine as possible.
  • Keep stirring over flame to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan.
  • Do not overcook – else it will turn out to be a brittle texture, instead of a moist one. If in doubt, you can remove from fire and can cool a spoon of halwa, check if it is done and then return to fire if it is still liquidy.
Nutri notes
  • Almonds are a great source of protein, fat, fibre, of vitamins-thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E; and of minerals- iron, copper, zinc. This unique combination makes it wonderful for growing children.The fat is mostly of monounsaturated kind which is helpful in building HDL cholesterol, and reducing LDL cholesterol.For more information on health benefits of almonds look here.
  • Dates are energy packed, bursting with iron, zinc. Also a good source of potassium which is very necessary for smooth working of heart muscles and an efficient nervous system.Foods high on potassium also help in regulating sodium in the body, hence control blood pressure.
  • Dates contain no fat. The high fibre content in dates makes sure the body escapes constipation, colon cancer.
  • Dates also pack in several B complex vitamins such as niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid.This makes it a handy snack for pregnant and lactating women as well as children in growth phase, especially if they are active in sports.
  • This recipe combines the two wonder ingredients almonds and dates and combines milk and butter to it as a bonus!The use of butter does make it a high calorie dish – however it is good to remember healthy, active children need no calorie restriction and you may just be able to get a reluctant child to eat this delicious form of dates or almond.As for the others, moderation is the key word to remember! Do indulge in this ‘healthy sin’ in moderation and remember to work out a little extra to deserve this lovely treat!
    Sending this dish to The Veggie Hut as my entry to ongoing event ' Winter warmers'
     

22 comments:

Kurinji said...

Nice n healthy combo....

Pongal Feast Event

Kurinji

Padma said...

Nice combo and delicious halwa.

Vasavi Suresh said...

Sounds delicious and healthy..

jayasree said...

Yummy combo of dates and almonds...Lovely start to the new year

R said...

healthy and delicious! u have a nice space.

Pushpa said...

Lovely combo of dates and almonds,yummy halva..

Rajani said...

Thank you everyone for taking time to comment on my recipe.
Kurinji,I hope to make it in time to your feast event.Thanks for inviting.
Padma and vasavi,you have great blogs...veterans..thanks for encouraging a beginner like me.
Jayashree,you are my mentor!
R,I'm sure going to grab several recipes from your bag!
Pushpa,you have used several uncommon ingredients in traditional recipes, so nice!

Chitra said...

Very healthy & delicious post..Love this one :)U have a yummy blog ;)

Aruna Manikandan said...

Halwa looks healthy and delicious!!!!
Thx. for sharing :)

Raji said...

Very delicious looking halwa... I make almonds halwa but this is certainly a nice variation using dates...
thanks for posting so nice comments on my blog.

Mangala Prabhu said...

Looks lovely! After reading your post, I am chewing on some Dates ;) will give your halwa recipe a try!

Rajani said...

Chitra and Aruna, thanks for very kind words.
Hi foodie,first time here? welcome!
Mangala,go for the halwa... :-)

jayashree said...

First time here ! Nice to know that you too are from B'lore. Will go thro' all your yummy recipes leisurely.

amna said...

thanks for stopping by Edible Garden :)

divya said...

First time here....
halwa looks healthy and delicious...glad to follow u...
check my space when u find time :)

Priya dharshini said...

Ur blog serves really good healthy recipes,worth the name

Rajani said...

Jayashree,welcome.
Nags,welcome,hoping to get more tips on photography from you :-)
Divya,keep visiting,you have a great space as well..
Hi Priya,thank you.

Veggie Hut said...

Hi Rajani,

Thanks for the entry! I has replied to ur mail and ur query abt photography.. I am not sure if u good it... so I have forwarded it again..

I am just moving around ur space.. LOve the combo of this halwa..Dates are very dear to me.. I make a smoothie of it every other day.. Nice idea of making a halwa..

Cheers

Manasi said...

Thanks for stopping by at a cook @ heart.
I am always on the look out for such healthy recipes fro my 2 1/2 yr old and i am bookmarking this.

Unknown said...

Rich n yummy halwa

Anonymous said...

My husband is often a diabetic and I'd prefer to bake some cookies for him. Can I use fructose for diabetic cookies?.
My site > patti labelle diabetic cookbook

Rajani said...

It is difficult to say if frustose is allowed for your husband without knowing other details about his diabetes. While fructose is slightly different in chemicla composition from sucrose or glucose, we must remember that all these are sugars which an insulin - compromised person will have difficulty digesting.So my answer would be 'no'.