This is a very famous halwa in a place called Thirunelvelli and hence the name. The shop which sells this Halwa is called Iruttu Kadai and I have heard that it sells out within few hours of preparation. Though I have never gone to this shop to eat the Halwa, my friend whose native is Thirunelvelli used to get it for me every time she travels to her home town. Those are my memories with this delicacy.
Before we start going into the recipe this is a long tedious process and there is no short cut to it. But at the end you will be proud of the outcome and it is all worth it!
The basic ingredient is wheat for this Halwa and has only 3 ingredients - wheat, sugar and ghee. There are no there additional flavoring added to it like cardamom and saffron. Though I have added nuts for extra crunch the original does not have any nuts.
Going back to the wheat - you can use any of the 3 forms of wheat to achieve the below. Whole wheat or broken wheat or wheat flour. For the below I have used broken wheat (Fada), but I have given instructions on the process if you are using the other two. Only the initial process of extracting the milk is different, after which all the steps are the same irrespective of which wheat you use.
This takes a whole 24 hours to make including the soaking and milk extraction and after that I would advice to set the Halwa aside for a few additional hours to achieve the desired consistency.
I made this for Deepavali and it was a big hit. Few of my friends even said it is better than the Iruttu Kadai Halwa!
Ingredients Required:
Wheat Fada - 1 cup
Water - 4 cups
Sugar - 2.5 cups + 0.5 cups
Ghee - 1 cup
How to make:
Soaking the wheat :
Soak the wheat in water for 8-12 hours.
Extraction of milk:
If using broken wheat, smash the wheat with your hands till you see the water turn white.
Strain this and again add water to the wheat and repeat the milk extraction 2-3 times till you get milk.
Set aside the extracted milk for 3 hours so the milk settles at the bottom and the water is at the top.
Slowly pour the water and discard it and just keep the milk settles at the bottom.
Add 4 cups of fresh water to this milk and mix well.
Caramelizing the Sugar:
In a heavy bottom pan, add the 1/2 cup sugar and spread it across the pan.
Heat the pan on medium heat and wait till the sugar starts to dissolve and turn brown.
Once it browns, give a quick stir and switch of the heat when you get a brown color caramel.
Be careful as the sugar can burn easily. If you burnt the sugar or have the slightest doubt, discard and start again as this will spoil the full halwa.
Making Halwa:
In a heavy bottom pan, add the remainder of the sugar with 1/2 cup water.
When the sugar dissolve and you get sticky consistency, add the caramelized sugar and bring to a boil.
Add the extracted milk and cook on low to medium flame by stirring every once in 10 minutes and adding a tblsp of ghee.
This would take around 2-3 hours depending on the flame heat. If you are committed to staying by the Halwa full time stirring then you can increase the flame and the cooking time will reduce.
By the end you should have added 1 cup ghee and the Halwa would come together without sticking.
The Halwa should be dark brown in color.
You can add ghee roasted cashews , but totally optional as it is not added in the traditional recipe.
Let the Halwa sit it the same pan for a few hours before serving so it sets nicely and you should be able to scoop and drop the Halwa without it sticking to the ladle.
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