Un Helvası

5 from 1 vote

Un Helvası, or Turkish Flour Halva, is made with just four ingredients and is one of the easiest Turkish dessert you can make. You need one pan and about fifty minutes of stirring. In Turkey it’s made for funerals, religious days and special occasions.

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Turkish

Diet: Halal, , Vegetarian

Servings: people

Calories: 334kcal

Author: Ayla Clulee

Ingredients

8 oz all-purpose flour 230 g
2 sticks butter or 1 cup ghee 230 g - 8 oz
1 ½ cups granulated sugar 300 g - 10 ½ oz
1 ½ cups whole milk or reduced fat milk 360 ml - 12 fl oz
¼ cup pine nuts 20 g - ¾ oz

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the Syrup

Put the sugar and milk in a small pot. Heat it over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn off the heat and leave the syrup to cool a little. Make it first so it can cool down, then get on with the flour.

Roast the Flour

Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat.
Sift in the flour a little at a time, add the pine nuts, and stir as you go.
Roast on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring so it does not burn.
After 15 to 20 minutes the flour turns golden brown and smells nutty. Wait for that color and that smell, because if you stop too early the flavor is bland.

Add the Syrup

The mixture will bubble up when the syrup goes in, so keep the heat low and pour slowly.
Pour the warm syrup into the roasted flour a little at a time, stirring the whole time.
Keep stirring until it thickens and comes together. The flour takes up all the liquid and the halva starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Take it off the heat, put the lid on, and leave it to rest for five to ten minutes. It should be soft but firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
Shape it into small mounds with two spoons when it is still warm, or spread it into a shallow dish and cut it into squares once it has cooled.

Notes

Roast the flour slowly, 15 to 20 minutes on low to medium heat, until it is golden brown and smells nutty. Stopping early leaves it tasting of raw flour.
Sift the flour into the butter so it does not go lumpy.
Pine nuts go in with the flour so they toast at the same time.
Let the syrup cool a little before it goes in, and pour it slowly. It bubbles up hard if you rush it.
Stir the whole time after the syrup goes in.
Do not reduce the butter. The helva comes out lumpy and dry with less fat.
Rest it covered off the heat for five to ten minutes before shaping.
Shape it warm, with two spoons, or spread it in a dish and cut it into squares once cool.
Take the sugar down a little if you want it less sweet, or add a spoon or two if you like it sweeter.
Swaps: oil for the butter and water for the milk makes it dairy free and vegan. Margarine works in place of butter. Walnuts or pistachios work in place of pine nuts.
Storage: airtight at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, or up to a week in the fridge. Take it out of the fridge an hour before serving, or warm it through for a few seconds.
Vegetarian as written. Not dairy free unless you swap the butter and the milk.

Nutrition