Those of you reading Greek bloggers must be familiar with «Kathari Deftera» or Ash Monday by now. It is the Monday that marks the beginning of lent and a big Greek bank holiday and it was yesterday. When I was a kid it was probably the best day after New Years morning (in Greece this is when we traditionally get the presents under the tree), because we would fly a kite. Now that I don’t fly a kite any more I love it because of all the lovely food: no dairy or meat is permitted, just veggies and anything living without blood (kalamari, octopus, shrimp, lobster, etc., but no fish). The most famous dish of the day of course is taramosalata which I made for the family table following my mothers recipe. We also had giant beans, an aubergine salad, octopus, and loads of «lagana» the traditional bread of the day. The meal was concluded with two types of halva: tahini halva, which you buy from the grocers and semolina halva that you can make yourself.
If you have never tried semolina halva you will be surprised by the deliciousness such humble ingredients can bring. The taste comes from the toasted semolina flour and the spices that you will use (traditionally cinnamon). Below I give you my take on this Greek classic and you should try it especially if you are looking for a dairy (and cholesterol free) dessert.
Greek Semolina Halva
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup oil (olive oil or for a lighter taste sunflower oil)
- 2 cups coarse semolina
- 100g blanched almonds or shelled walnuts, coarsely ground
for the syrup
- 2 cups sugar (or 1 cup sugar and 1 cup honey)
- 3.5 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamom pods
- some lemon or orange rind (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Place the syrup ingredients in a small pot and let them boil for a couple of minutes. Remove cinnamon, cloves and rind and set aside but keep warm.
- In a large pot add the oil and when it is hot pour in the semolina. Reduce the heat to medium and using a wooden spoon stir constantly. The semolina will gradually start turning gold and then darker and darker until it burns. The colour really is matter of taste: the darker the halva the heavier the taste. I am a medium gold type of person. Towards the end of the cooking time add the nuts and let them toast a little bit.
- Now comes the «tricky» part: you will need to pour the syrup into the very hot semolina. However it will bubble and spatter everywhere so you need to be a little bit away from the pot when you do that. otherwise you will get nasty burns.
- When you have poured all of the syrup into the semolina return the pot to the fire and stir until the halva starts to thicken. The final consistency should be that of a runny dough.
- Pour the halva into your pan of choice (you can use a bundt pan, or a loaf pan or even serve it in individual bowls) and let it cool a little bit before serving. You can dust it with some extra cinnamon if you want and decorate with almond slivers.
Food Junkie not junk food 
Kali Saralosti Ioanna, the halva looks outstanding!
Kali Sarakosti Jo! Looks beautiful. Halva is so simple yet very delcious (and addictive for me!).
Hola beauty!!! I bet you will take your baby to fly a kyte maybe next year? Semolina Halva looks like a flavourful and supertasty cake… It seems to be calling me!!!! I’m not following the Lent rules here… I’m just on diet 😦
Hugs!
Ιωαννα, νομίζω ότι για να είναι πιο σαφές, ακόμη και για τους πολύ ασχέτους-όπως εγώ…- θάπρεπε η ζάχαρη να πάει στα υλικά για το σιρόπι. α: για τους πολύ ασχέτους.
Καταπληκτική φωτογραφία.
Έχεις δίκιο, το διόρθωσα. Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
Halvas is one of my favorite Greek desserts, no matter what time of the year. I prefer the Politikos halvas though, the more crumbly one and without the almonds.
Kali Sarakosti!
Magda
I have yet to try this but it looks wonderful. Dairy free too? Wow. It looks incredibly moist–I love the simple ingredients.
i made this too – it was eaten before you could say ‘kali sarakosti’!
Πολύ ωραία η συνταγή σου!Εγώ βάζω λίγο σουσαμάκι αντί για αμύγδαλα…αλλά είναι γλυκάκι που έχει πολλές παραλλαγές και όπως και να είναι , η απλότητα του κλέβει την παράσταση!
I just finished my version of halva this afternoon as I am having guests tomorrow. It’s one of my favorite desserts, regardless of it being made primarily for Lent. Kali Sarakosti Ioanna!
I love tahini halva – I’d love to try this version!
Καλή Σαρακοστή Ιωάννα μου. Μας λείπεις φέτος αλλά ποιος σε πιάνει στη χαρά σου.
I love Halva. I make it quite often. Great for desert and coffee.
It looks quite interesting this dessert Jo. And not to mention delicious..:)
Efharisto!! I’ve been wanting to make this for some time now…especially now during lent, this is perfect! Thank you again!
Quick tip: You can vary the quantity of the halva by changing to a smaller or bigger cup. As long as you use the same cup for all ingredients you can never go wrong with this recipe!
Και δείχνει υπέροχο και πρέπει να είναι… πολλές φορές κάνω κάποιες παραλλαγές μιας και είναι ένα γλυκό που πολύ συχνά φτιάχνω στο σπίτι μας, είτε βρισκόμαστε σε περίοδο νηστείας είτε όχι, όπως να προσθέσω κουκουνάρια, σαφράν, σταφίδες…
Since I didn’t have butter at hand at the moment but a huge craving for semolina helva I told myself to try out your recipe instead of our Turkish one (the main difference is the oil actually otherwise everything is basically the same). I, not being used to cooking sweets (not being used to cooking sweets period perhaps?) with olive oil, burned a first batch which was thankfully just a trial batch. I substituted the water for milk on my second trial cause I am a sucker for milk semolina helva, and I must say it was a success!! Much lighter than our version which is delicious but way too heavy on the butter, I was actually able to finish a plate by myself with this one! I loved it, definitely will continue making helva with olive oil. Efharisto! My belly thanks you too! 🙂
I am glad you liked it!
Πολύ ωραίες αναμνήσεις μου’φερες!!!!Η γιαγιά μου το έφτιαχνε πολύ αυτό και μου έμαθε και μένα, μόνο που εμείς βάζουμε 3 φλυτζάνια ζάχαρη 4 νερό. Την έλεγε η συνταγή 1 2 3 4
Καλή Σαρακοστή!
Ναι αυτή είναι ηκλασσική, αλλά τα 3 φλιτζάνια ζάχαρη μου πέφτουνε πολύ γλυκα.
Κι εγω ετσι τον εμαθα αλλα τωρα κλεβω λιγο στο λαδι και στη ζαχαρη!
I never knew there was a greek version of semolina halva! Awesome pics btw 🙂
ωρε Χαλβάς, τι καταπληκτικό γλυκό, πόσα χρόνια έχω να φάω αλήθεια….
I wish I could find halvas everywhere