Diwali is auspicious festival for Hindus. It is also known as Deepavali festival meaning Festival of Lights. While families and friends gather to celebrate this festival, both delicious sweets and other snack items occupy dinner table on festival nights. On this auspicious time, prepare dates (kajoor) halwa for celebration.

Unlike other halwa recipes where we must add sugar or jaggery for sweet taste, dates halwa does not need added sugar as the sugar content in dates is high and the sweetness of dates is also high.

Dates provide a wide range of essential nutrients and are very good source of dietary potassium. Sugar content of ripe dates is about 80%; the remainder consists of protein, fiber, and trace elements including boron, cobalt, copper, fluorine, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc.

Celebrate Deepavali festival with Dates halwa.

Ingredients

1. Dates – 2 cups
2. Clarified butter/ghee – 1 cup
3. Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
4. Clove- 3
5. Cashew – About 10 (chopped)
6. Corn flour – 2 Tbsp
7. Water – ½ cup

Preparation:

1. Soak dates in one cup hot water for about half an hour.
2. In a bowl take corn flour, add ½ cup water and mix well. There should not be any lumps.
3. After half an hour transfer dates to a blender and prepare paste.
4. On medium heat place a vessel and transfer date paste.
5. Add ghee and mix well. Continue stirring and mixing till the ghee absorbed by date paste.
6. Add one Tbsp ghee and continue mixing.
7. Once the mixture turns glossy and thickens, pour corn flour liquid to cooked date paste and mix well.
8. Continue stirring till the mix thickens.
9. Heat small frying pan, add little ghee and fry cashew pieces to golden brown. You can clove and fry for couple of seconds.
10. Transfer cashew, cloves to dates paste, add cardamom powder and mix well.
11. Prepare a tray lined with baking paper and transfer dates halwa mix while it is hot onto baking paper.
12. Using a spoon or spatula level the mix on the tray.
13. Leave the tray for half an hour to one hour so that halwa settles on the tray and solidifies.
14. Cut halwa into equal pieces using a knife and transfer to a proper container. Store halwa container in refrigerator.

Enjoy Deepavali with homemade date halwa.

Happy Diwali/ Deepavali to all!

Image credit: Halwa:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/535365474460271847/

Dates: Image by SW Yang from Pixabay  (cc by 0)