This is a lot like the Persian recipe for Halva, except the one main difference is this is made with rice flour while Halva is made with wheat flour (typically white flour). I used a smaller amount for my ingredients because I wanted to make less.
Tar Halva
Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup rose water
1 teaspoon liquid saffron (or you can use a bit of ground up dry saffron)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
In a small pot bring the water to a boil and add the sugar, rose water, and saffron. Stir until sugar is dissolved and leave on a low heat. In another larger pot on medium temperature heat up the oil and then add the rice flour and continuously stir. Once the flour has started to change color and gets to a darker color you will place it off the stove burner and carefully pour in the liquid. Be careful it will steam up and is hot! Then you will quickly begin stirring the contents together until they begin to solidify and kind of stick together. Tar Halva doesn’t stick together like Halva does because of the different texture. Also, Tar Halva seems to be oily. Pour the contents into a plate and press down and then give it a design.
Note: One other main difference is that you will fry the rice flour for Tar Halva a bit less than you do the flour used for Halva.
The recipe I have for this halva has been passed down to me by my mother-in law. I guess its one of my husbands favorites too because it doesn’t last long when I make it!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Rice Flour
1 tablespoon Starch
2 cups water & Rose water (mostly rose water)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon oil
saffron
Directions:
Stir the flour in a pot over the stove (on med to med-high heat) for approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Then add the starch and water & rose water. Continue stirring until the mix becomes slightly thick. Add the saffron, sugar, and then the oil. Continuously stir the mixture, and once the mix has a thick consistency it will be ready to pour into a dish o cool down. Keep in mind it may take 15-25 minutes of continuous stirring until it is finally thick and ready to pour into a dish. You dont want it to be too watery! Also, when it cools down it will only thicken a little more than what it is on the stove.
This specific halva is made with white flour. There are many different halvas and I hope to learn how to make the majority of them!
Persian Halvaa
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon saffron
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup rose water
Directions:
In a small pot, boil the water and add the sugar, ground saffron, and rose water. Mix and leave on low or place aside once well mixed and sugar is melted.
In a larger pot, heat the oil and add the flour. Make sure you are mixing the flour into the oil and continue stirring so that it cooks evenly (and does not burn). The heat on your stove top should be anywhere from medium to high (based on how quickly you plan to stir and now allow the flour to burn). Once the color is nice and brown, and especially once you can smell that the flour has cooked you want to take the pot off the stove top and add the liquid mixture from the smaller pot. The flour mix is very hot and will start to sizzle when you add the liquid mixture. After you have added it stir very quickly until the halva thickens. Once thickened place the halva in a dish of your choice and flatten then add a design (with a spoon).
