Anyone have a great halvah recipe?

[cattzeye]

Hi,

I love halvah, and I'm thinking about trying to make it the raw way. I have seen lots of different recipes for raw halvah, using various ingredients. I am wondering if anyone here has a good tried-and-true favorite halvah recipe they could share?

I keep wondering if it is better to make it using sesame seeds, tahini, or maybe a combination of both? Does the use of a liquid sweetener make it softer in consistency than regular halvah, which uses granulated sugar? I really like the sort of "flakey" texture of regular halvah, and am hoping to duplicate it.

Looking forward to seeing some good halvah recipes!

Thanks,

Christine

[Cinnamon]

Here is one posted by Rawkinlocs in another thread, I've made it a few times and it is very very good!

Halva
by Kate Wood
http://www.organicfood.co.uk/inspiration/raw_halva.html

These are so popular, especially with children. Whenever I make them for other people, they invariably rave about them and ask for the recipe. They are incredibly simple to make, and you can use whatever combination of nuts and dried fruits that you choose. Decorated with sesame seeds or grated coconut, they make lovely homemade gifts. One friend says she melts a bar of plain organic chocolate into the recipe to make wonderful truffles, but I wouldn't know about that!

* 250 g / 8 oz tahini or sesame seeds
* 125 g / 4 oz raisins
* 125 g / 4 oz dates
* 1 tsp vanilla extract

Grind sesame seeds in a grinder, or use ready made tahini from a jar. Break down the dried fruit in the food processor until it forms one homogenous mass. By hand, break the mass into smaller pieces, and then add the seeds or tahini and vanilla. Turn the food processor on again, and keep it turning until it forms a mass again; this will take a few minutes, be patient. You may need to add a few drops of water to get it to hold together, but be careful, any more than a few drops and it will become too sticky. When it's become a single solid mass, take walnut-sized balls of the mixture and roll between the palms of your hands to form balls. Store in the fridge.

[cattzeye]

Hi Cinnamon,

Thanks so much for the recipe. I think, though, that it isn't quite what I'm looking for. It seems that with the dried fruit added, it would be more like the nut/seed and dried fruit balls I already make. I am hoping to sort of duplicate that nice flakey texture of traditional halvah. I don't know if this is possible, without using granulated sugar. I am wondering if using a liquid sweetener would yield the same texture, or if it would be more soft.

Anyone else? I guess I'll just have to plan on maybe wasting some money on failed attempts at finding the right combination. I realize I am being rather particular, but when you're looking for a certain something in a recipe, that's what you want :) I will wait and see if anyone else has a recipe, then if not, I will just go ahead and experiment. Anyway, I'm sure I will be able to salvage even my "failures", perhaps as part of another dessert.

Christine

[Jadrien24]

Christine,
I too love Halvah and after coming back from a trip to Israel last year, I desperately wanted to make it the raw way. I tried using just honey and tahini but, as you guessed, no matter how long I put it in the dehydrator for, it always came out runny and never got to the nice flaky texture we love. I don't know that grantulated sugar is the cause for that texture though, I always attributed that to baking it in the oven. I wonder what the texture would be like with dates added instead.
Sorry, no recipes, just adding my thoughts and my added yearn for a true Halvah recipe. :(

[cattzeye]

Hi Jadrien24,

I didn't know that traditional halvah was baked? Are you sure about this, I always thought the ingredients were just mixed and allowed to set. Tahini becomes very solid when mixed with other ingredients, and allowed to cool in the refrigerator. Just wondering. You probably got first-hand knowledge of halvah making while in Israel? I bet you had a wonderful time there. I would love to travel to the middle east, or really anywhere, for that matter. I am so curious about other cultures. I think that we can learn alot about a culture by eating their food, don't you? That is probably why I love ethnic food so much. That, and it just tastes wonderful!

Thanks for your comments :)

Christine

[aromaticwings]

Here is one I found.. sorry can not remember where I got the recipe... if it is someone here..please let me know so you can get the credit... but it sounded so good...

halvah
Mmmm... I have found a new love!
Here's my favorite version... bits and parts from other's creations. :)

1/2 cup tahini (I ground some up from sesame seeds becuase I was out.. turned out good)
1/2 c. ground almonds
1 banana
1/2 cup coconut flakes (hmm I bet you could use fresh young coconut meat and it would be yummy! I'll have to try that next time, maybe increase the tahini and almond amounts if I do that :)

process and divide into half

spread one half on a plate and chill
to other half add 1 T of carob and layer on top of the other half- chill until firmish

scoop little amounts and make into balls. will have a neat marbled look.. half white and half brown. chill and serve

[Jadrien24]

Hi Jadrien24,

I didn't know that traditional halvah was baked? Are you sure about this, I always thought the ingredients were just mixed and allowed to set. Tahini becomes very solid when mixed with other ingredients, and allowed to cool in the refrigerator.


Oh! No, I don't have first-hand info, I was just sure they baked it to get that texture, but if not, hmmm, I wonder if I should just give it another try. Well, I also experimented with putting it in the freezer, but again the texture was not flaky and the taste wasn't very good either (though that was the case with the dehydrator as well). Sigh, thus, I gave up on Halvah. Perhaps it would come out better with dates, I will try that next time.

[cattzeye]

Aromaticwings,

Thank you so much for the recipe. Again, not sure if it will yield the texture I'm looking for, but I will give it a try! I am determined to find a recipe I like. I will probably do as you did, and take parts of recipes to come up with what I like.

Jadrien24,

Let me know how your experimentation goes. If you find a good combination, please let me know.

Thanks for everyone's comments and ideas so far :)

Christine

[cattzeye]

Hi all,

Well, I was browsing through my "Eating Without Heating" book this morning, and I found a halvah recipe there.

HALVAH

2 cups tahini
1 cup shredded dried coconut
1/2 cup honey (could sub agave nectar)
1/4 t salt (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pistachios (optional)

On a dehydrator tray, spread to a 2-inch thickness. Dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours at 100 degrees. Remove and allow to cool, then freeze for 1 to 2 hours before serving.


*I don't have use of my dehydrator right now, as it's in storage. So I would probably just proceed to the freezing step. Don't know how this would affect the texture. This recipe is similar to the one posted earlier, except there's no banana. I wonder if the coconut might, after all, give me the texture I'm looking for?

I am going to give this recipe a try this afternoon, hopefully I will have time. I'll let you know how it comes out, and what, if any adjustments I make to the recipe.

Christine

[Jadrien24]

Alrighty (I know this was posted awhile ago, but oh well...)
I have I believe the material for a solution. I was just surfing to see if I could get any recipe for Halvah, even non-raw, just to see what the technique is. I believe I've found one, however I'm not sure how possible it is to make it raw. It just might be possible however, we'll see. Anyway, here you go:

"I think you're looking for the kind of sesame halva that is frequently sold in large blocks and you just slice off a piece, right? (sold as Turkish halva, Israeli halva, Greek halva, etc.)
If so, this is it. And it literally takes only a few minutes to make.
I am paraphrasing (and adding a few comments of my own) from Indian-Jewish Cooking by Mavis Hyman. I have made it, and found it extremely straightforward, and that it yielded the same texture as the bought stuff.

Toast 1 cup of sesame seeds on a dry skillet until golden brown. Allow to cool, then grind to a powder.
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, dissolve one quarter of a cup of sugar in the water. Keep aside on low heat.
Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, add powdered sesame seeds, and toast over low heat, stirring constantly for 5 to 10 minutes. This is a fairly vague description, but when ready it truly will start to give off a pleasant aroma that wasn't there before. It will also have turned somewhat darker. Turn off the heat under both the sesame seeds and the water.
Now add the sweetened water to the sesame seeds (it will splash). If adding nuts or essence, add them at this stage. Turn onto a greased surface and allow to cool.

It is still quite runny at the point you turn it out. I line a bowl (about the size of bowl you would eat breakfast cereal from) with baking parchment or greased aluminum foil so that it is does not spread too much. It firms up as it cools.

I haven't tried it with the chocolate variation. I imagine you would have to dissolve it in the sugar syrup. The recipe says nothing about toasting the nuts you add into it, but I do that.
The plain version probably has vanilla essence added to it. I like Indian flavorings, so tend to add ground cardamom and cardamom essence as well.

Isn't it so lovely and straightforward!

BTW, there is a huge range of Indian halvas that work on the same principle: try it for example with semolina, wheat, urad dal flour, or chickpea flour. All of these are cooked in the same way as this recipe, with the exception that, as these flours are already ground, you just go straight into the step of toasting your main ingredient with oil or ghee. Some turn out firmer than others. Semolina is often prepared to be quite soft and is eaten warm with a spoon. Urad dal (one of my favorites) turns a luscious chocolatey color, and sets quite firm. I've played around a lot with these, and you can mess around considerable with the amount of sugar, water, or oil. It's very forgiving. (Too much water, for example, just keep cooking it longer until the excess gets evaporated, etc.)"

So, I'm thinking that it might be possible to of course, start out by making your own sesame seed flour without toasting them first, substitute agave or honey for the sugar, and olive or flax or sesame oil for the vegetable oil. Now, it does say that you always use low heat when you have it in the skillet, so perhaps if you monitor it, you can keep it raw. I'm a little depressed, I was really hoping that I could just stick it in the fridge and that no heating process was involved but it does seem that we have to do this in order to get that flaky texture we like. Sigh, well, we'll see how it goes.

[Leiloshka]

Well, if you can figure out a flaky, raw version please let me know. For now, when I get the urge...I hate to say, but I just buy some at the Russian deli. :o I don't crave it often, but since I'm there every Saturday for Russian lessons, that sweet, flaky dessert is too hard to pass up when I'm really craving it. I've found on some things like that, I give in, and enjoy it and then it's a long time before I want it again. For me, it's worth the slip.

But, I would have a clearer conscience if there was a raw version. So again, please let me know if you find the magic formula.