Bombay Halwa Recipe
If you can't enjoy this Bombay Halwa from sweets shops being locked down, go on and fetch some custard powder, sugar and ghee and try out this gelatinous delight.
Ingredients
- 1 cup corn flour (or custard powder)
- 2 cups grain sugar
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 3-4 tsp ghee
- 3 cups water
- A pinch cardamom powder
- A pinch yellow food colour (or orange food colour)
Instructions
- Grease a round baking tray with ghee, taking care to cover the bottom and sides of the tray well.
- Place a pan with sugar and lime juice on a low flame. Bring to a boil till syrupy (or till a 2-thread consistency). See the note below (at the far bottom of the article) for a tip on ascertaining a 2-thread consistency. Don’t fret if you can’t get it, as it needs to be light and syrupy unlike that required of a 1-thread syrup.
- Remove from the stove and keep aside.
- Separately take the custard powder (or corn flour) in a non-stick vessel, add all the water and stir until there are no lumps.
- Turn on the heat, on a low-medium flame. Pour the diluted custard/cornflour slurry in a pan and place the pan on the stove. Stir continuously until the mixture turns thick. Add food colour at this stage and stir in the sugar syrup – in small batches. Don’t add the syrup all at one go as it won’t achieve the jelly like consistency required of a Bombay ka halwa. If you can’t figure out how jellified it must get, use a timer to cook for around 15 minutes on medium-high flame. Don’t stop stirring constantly, an exercise that pays off till its glutinous end.
- Add cardamom powder, and 3-4 tsps of ghee – one tsp at a time – cooking on medium heat and stirring continuously. When it achieves the required gooeyness, remove from the stove and pour the mixture into the pre-greased tray.
- Let cool, for say a half hour (or less) using your discretion. Run a thin knife around the inside edges, place a flat dish over the container and overturn it adroitly. When you hear the sound of a dollop of a drop, you know you’ve got it right.