Ashtami prashad - Kaale Chhole, Poori & Atte Ka Halwa

Happy Durga Ashtami everyone! I am bringing to you the typical halwa, poori-chhole that is cooked early morning for the Ashtami pooja at my home and most other North Indian households. After nine days of Navratri and following a strict no non-vegetarian, no onion-garlic diet we conclude it on the eighth day called Ashtami by offering this prasad to Maa Durga the Goddess first and later feasting on this yummy authentic North Indian food for the rest of the day.

We try out the poori or fluffy deep-fried bread in so many ways in the same day. First we eat the hot, bubbling and fluffy poori straight out of the wok with spicy dry kaale chhole or black-brown chickpeas. Then hot and velvety atte ka halwa or wholewheat sweet pudding is slathered on top of the soft poori and devoured slowly taking in the taste of halwa and poori in every bite.

We eat such a packed breakfast of poori, chhole and halwa that lunch is skipped and then by 4 pm when the hunger again strikes, we go looking for some leftover pooris from the morning in the roti ka dabba or hot case and then eat them with aam ka achaar or raw mango pickle, washing it down with a cup of kadak chai.

So now you know what is on the menu in every North Indian house when it is Ashtami or Navmi! Nothing else is cooked afterwards as this dish is repeated in several combinations throughout the day. Dinner is mostly the leftover chhole with steamed rice or fresh phulkas or chapatti.

Kaale Chhole

The Kaale Chhole or  Sookhe Kaale Chane or Black Chickpeas (Dry) is a recipe from Punjab. These are super easy and since it is onion-garlic free it requires less chopping of veggies and if the chhole is pressure cooked in advance the tadka or tempering for this recipe can be prepared in under 30 min. Since this is prasad for Ashtami pooja so no onion, no garlic is added. But still its yummy. :-) See the step-by-step recipe for Kaale Chhole here. 

Poori

Learn how to make fluffy poori from the step-by-step recipe provided here. For poori, I always prepare the dough well in advance. If I have to make it early in the morning I prepare the dough in the night and store it in fridge. I find it easier to handle the dough which has take its time to rest.

Halwa

Being a sweet dish, halwa is made on special occasions or festivals in most Indian households using different kinds of flour like suji (semolina) or atta (wholewheat flour) or mixing the two. When the bride comes to her new home after marriage, she is expected to make a signature halwa dish and that is the way she makes it into the hearts of her in-laws. :-)

It is fairly easy but still you need to be careful and keep stirring while roasting the flour in the ghee so that no lumps are formed. For the Atte Ka Halwa recipe click here!

Hope you all had a divine Ashtami. Happy Ashtami/Kanjak/Vishu to all those celebrating! :-)

Atte Ka Halwa

Being a sweet dish, halwa is made on special occasions or festivals in most Indian households using different kinds of flour like suji (semolina) or atta (wholewheat flour) or mixing the two. When a new bride comes to her new home after marriage, she is expected to make a signature halwa dish and that is the way she makes it into the hearts of her in-laws. :-) 

It is fairly easy but still you need to be careful and keep stirring while roasting the flour in the ghee so that no lumps are formed.

Being a rich desert, it is eaten by topping it with chopped dry fruits or even by adding slightly roasted chopped dry fruits such as almonds, raisin, cashew while cooking. It is scooped in spoons and mostly eaten as it is. The better-half loves the epic puri-halwa combo wherein hot and velvety atte ka halwa or wholewheat sweet pudding is slathered on top of the soft poori and devoured slowly taking in the taste of halwa and poori in every bite. See the recipe to make hot and fluffy poori here.

The golden rule that I have learned and ingrained in my head for making Halwa as told by my wise mother is to always keep the ratio of flour:water as 1:4. For example, you are using 2 cups of flour, the water required to make it will be 8 cups.

Difficulty: Easy

Cooking Time: 20-25 min

Servings: 4-5

Ingredients:

1 cup wholewheat flour

1 cup ghee

Sugar 6-7 tbsp

4 cups water

Method:

1) In a wok, add flour and ghee. On a low flame, keep stirring until a roasted fragrance of flour can be sensed.

2) Once the flour looks roasted and brown (but not burnt), slowly add water while stirring continuously with the other hand to make sure no lumps are formed. Keep stirring and bring to a boil.

3) Add sugar and stir. Turn of the gas once the halwa has thickened to a semi-fluid smooth consistency. Garnish with chopped almonds or roasted dry fruits of your choice. Serve hot.

How do you make your Halwa? Please share your recipes with me. I'd love to know how you make it.

Thanks for reading! :-)