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Halwa puri
حلوہ پوری (halwa puri): Lahore's Sunday breakfast of puffed puris, semolina halwa and spiced chickpeas
PakistaniSunday mornings in Lahore start with a queue: outside the halwa puri shops of Gawalmandi and Lakshmi Chowk, families wait with steel tiffins to carry home stacks of puffed puris, a tray of orange semolina halwa and a pot of sour, peppery chickpeas. The joy of the plate is the contrast, a hot, crisp-chewy puri torn and used to scoop both the sweet, cardamom-scented halwa and the spicy chana, with mango pickle and onion on the side and a cup of strong tea or lassi to finish. It is heavy, celebratory food, made for weekends, Eid mornings and guests. Doing it at home is a matter of order: cook the chana first, then the halwa, and fry the puris last so they reach the table puffed. Where many go wrong is rolling the puris too thin or frying in oil that is not hot enough, so they lie flat and soak up grease. Chef's tip: knead the puri dough stiff, with a spoon of semolina in it, and it will puff and stay crisp much longer.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chickpeas
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tomatoeschopped
- 1 ¾ lb cooked chickpeas2 tins, drained, liquid kept
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 /2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups water or chickpea liquid
For the halwa
- 2 ⅞ oz ghee
- 4 green cardamom podslightly crushed
- 5 ½ oz sugar
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 pinch orange food colour (optional)
- 2 tbsp almonds and pistachios (optional)sliced
For the puris
- 9 oz plain flour (maida)
- 1 tbsp fine semolina (sooji)
- 1 /2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ cup warm waterabout
- 3 ¼ cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying
To serve
- mango pickle (optional)
- 1 onion (optional)sliced into rings
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What you'll need
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Method
0/13 doneStep 1: For the chana, heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 8–10 minutes until golden.
10 minStep 2: Stir in 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste for 1 minute, then add 2 tomatoes, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric and 1 tsp salt and cook for 6–8 minutes until the tomatoes collapse and the oil separates at the edges.
2 minStep 3: Add 1 ¾ lb cooked chickpeas and 1 ¼ cups water or chickpea liquid, mash a few chickpeas against the side of the pan to thicken, and simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 4: Stir in 1 tsp dried pomegranate seed powder (anardana) and 1 /2 tsp garam masala, then keep the chana warm on the lowest heat; it should be thick enough to scoop, not soupy.
Step 5: For the halwa, bring 1 ¾ cups water and 5 ½ oz sugar to the boil in a small pan with 1 pinch orange food colour, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then keep it hot.
2 minStep 6: Melt 2 ⅞ oz ghee in a heavy pan over a medium-low heat, add 4 green cardamom pods and 4 oz fine semolina (sooji) and stir constantly for 7–8 minutes until the semolina smells toasty and turns pale gold.
8 minStep 7: Pour in the hot syrup carefully, as it will splutter, and stir hard over a low heat for 4–5 minutes until the halwa thickens, pulls away from the pan and glistens with ghee. Scatter with 2 tbsp almonds and pistachios and cover.
5 minStep 8: For the puris, mix 9 oz plain flour (maida), 1 tbsp fine semolina (sooji) and 1 /2 tsp salt, rub in 1 tbsp vegetable oil and add ½ cup warm water a little at a time to make a stiff, smooth dough; knead for 3 minutes.
Step 9: Rest the dough under a damp cloth for 10 minutes, then divide it into 12 balls.
Step 10: Roll each ball into a 12 cm round about 2 mm thick, keeping them under a cloth so they do not dry.
Step 11: Heat 3 ¼ cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying in a karahi to 375°F; a pinch of dough should rise to the top at once.
5 minStep 12: Slide in one puri, press it gently under the oil with a slotted spoon until it balloons, about 20 seconds, then flip and fry for 20 seconds more until pale golden; drain and repeat.
12 minStep 13: Serve the puris hot with the halwa, the chana, mango pickle and 1 onion.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 880 kcal
- Protein
- 19 g
- Carbs
- 112 g
- Fat
- 40 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does halwa puri take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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