Oats Halwa
- 5 min prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- Serves 4
- 405 kcal
- 7.3 g protein
Ground oats roasted in ghee, cooked down in milk until it pulls from the pan, and finished with cardamom and fried cashews. A festive halwa in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (90 g) quick or rolled oats
- 4 tbsp (55 g) ghee, divided
- 12 cashews, halved
- 1 tbsp (10 g) raisins
- 1½ cups (365 g) full-cream milk
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- A pinch of saffron (optional)
- 1 tbsp (8 g) slivered pistachios, to garnish
Method
- 1Dry roast the oats in a heavy kadai over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until they smell toasty. Cool for a few minutes, then grind to a fine powder in a dry mixer jar.
- 2Warm the milk and water together in a separate pan with the saffron and keep it hot.
- 3Heat 2 tbsp ghee in the kadai over low heat. Fry the cashews until golden and the raisins until plump, then lift them out.
- 4Add the oat powder to the same ghee and roast on low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes, until it smells nutty and turns a shade darker.
- 5Pour in the hot milk a little at a time, stirring hard to break up lumps. Cook on medium-low, stirring, for 5 to 6 minutes until it thickens to a soft, porridge-like mass.
- 6Add the sugar. The halwa will loosen as the sugar melts, then thicken again. Keep stirring and add the remaining ghee a spoon at a time over the next 4 to 5 minutes.
- 7When the halwa turns glossy, gathers into one mass and starts to leave the sides of the pan, stir in the cardamom and most of the cashews and raisins.
- 8Serve warm, topped with the remaining nuts and the pistachios.
Notes from the Department
- Keep the milk hot. Cold milk hitting roasted oat flour forms lumps that are hard to whisk out.
- Stir constantly once the milk goes in; oat flour catches on the bottom quickly.
- If it turns too stiff, stir in 2 to 3 tbsp of hot milk and cook for a minute.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 405 kcal
- Protein
- 7.3 g
- Carbohydrate
- 49 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 2.8 g
- Sugars
- 32 g
Why this works
Halwa depends on roasting a starch in ghee until nutty, then cooking it in liquid until the starch swells and the fat comes back out to the surface. Ground oats behave a lot like sooji here, but cook faster and give a softer, almost fudgy texture. Grinding them first stops the halwa from looking like sweet porridge. Adding the ghee in stages is what makes it glossy and helps it leave the pan.
How to tell it is done
Watch for three signs together: the halwa moves as one mass when you stir, the sides of the kadai come away clean, and a thin sheen of ghee appears on top. Stop there. Cooked further, it turns chewy once cool.
Swaps
Use jaggery for sugar, but add it after turning off the heat and stir until it melts, so the milk does not split. For a dairy-free halwa, cook in water or oat milk with coconut oil; it will be lighter and less rich. Grated carrot or mashed banana stirred in with the milk gives a gajar or kele ka halwa twist. For gluten-free, use oats labelled certified gluten-free.
Serving
Serve warm as a festival prasad, an after-dinner sweet, or with a spoon of cold curd on the side for contrast. The Ministry notes that halwa does not wait well for latecomers.
Storage
Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm it in a pan with a splash of milk and stir until soft again.
Questions people ask
- Should I grind the oats for oats halwa?
- Yes, for a smooth, classic halwa texture. Whole oats give a result closer to a thick sweet porridge. Grind them after a quick dry roast so they powder easily.
- Can I make oats halwa with jaggery?
- Yes. Use about ¾ cup grated jaggery and add it after turning off the heat, stirring until it melts. Adding jaggery to boiling milk can make it curdle.
- Why is my oats halwa lumpy?
- The milk was cold or added too fast. Use hot milk, pour it in gradually, and stir vigorously. A whisk helps break up any lumps early.
Inspired by Yummy Tummy. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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