Can I make atta halwa with jaggery instead of sugar?

Yes, cup for cup. Dissolve the jaggery powder in hot water first and pour that into the roasted atta. The halwa will be darker and taste of caramel.

Why is my aate ka halwa lumpy?

The liquid was cold, or it went in all at once without stirring. Keep the jaggery water hot and pour it in slowly while you stir.

What is the ratio for aate ka halwa with gur?

One cup of atta, one cup of jaggery powder, three cups of water and two-thirds of a cup of ghee. This recipe is half of that.

Aate ka halwa with gur, in twenty minutes

आटे का हलवा

Whole wheat flour roasted in ghee until it smells of biscuits, then cooked with hot jaggery water. Four ingredients and one pan.

A steel bowl of dark brown aate ka halwa topped with slivered almonds, beside a brass bowl of jaggery powder — Representative image of the dish.

Winter mornings and prasad · Prep 5 min · Cook 20 min · Total 25 min · Makes 3 to 4 servings · North Indian dessert

Aate ka halwa is the sweet a north Indian kitchen can always make, because everything in it is already in the house: atta, ghee, something sweet and water. Made with gur it is darker and tastes of caramel and roasted wheat.

It is quick, but the first ten minutes decide everything.

Roast the atta properly

Raw atta tastes of raw atta, whatever is added afterwards. It has to be stirred in ghee on a low flame until it is the colour of almond skin and smells like a biscuit tin. Only then does the liquid go in.

Ingredients

½ cup (about 65 g) Whole wheat flour (atta)
⅓ cup (about 70 g) Ghee
½ cup (about 100 g) ShuddhGaon jaggery powder
1½ cups Water
3, powdered Green cardamom
1 tbsp Almonds, slivered

Method

Make the jaggery water Bring the water to a boil in a small pan, take it off the heat and stir in the jaggery powder until it has dissolved. Keep it hot beside the stove.
Roast the atta in ghee Melt the ghee in a heavy kadhai on a low flame, add the atta and stir without stopping for 10 to 12 minutes. It will go from a paste to a loose, bubbling mixture, darken to a deep golden brown and smell nutty.
Pour in the jaggery water Stand back, because it splutters. Pour the hot jaggery water in slowly with one hand and stir with the other.
Cook until it leaves the pan Keep stirring for 3 to 4 minutes. The halwa will thicken, turn glossy and come away from the sides, with the ghee shining at the edges.
Serve hot Stir in the cardamom, scatter the almonds over it and eat it while it is hot.

With our jaggery

With powder, the jaggery water is ready in the time it takes to stir it. A block needs simmering and then straining. Keep the water hot: cold liquid poured into hot roasted atta seizes into lumps that never quite cook out. Our gur is unbleached, so the halwa will be a dark, even brown.

Tips from our kitchen

The ratio to remember By the cup: one of atta, one of gur, three of water, and two-thirds of ghee. Scale it up for a crowd.
Do not raise the flame Atta burns between one stir and the next on a high flame, and burnt atta is bitter.
For suji halwa The same method works with semolina. Roast it for 6 to 7 minutes instead of ten.

Questions people ask

Can I make atta halwa with jaggery instead of sugar?: Yes, cup for cup. Dissolve the jaggery powder in hot water first and pour that into the roasted atta. The halwa will be darker and taste of caramel.
Why is my aate ka halwa lumpy?: The liquid was cold, or it went in all at once without stirring. Keep the jaggery water hot and pour it in slowly while you stir.
What is the ratio for aate ka halwa with gur?: One cup of atta, one cup of jaggery powder, three cups of water and two-thirds of a cup of ghee. This recipe is half of that.

Worth reading alongside this

The jaggery this recipe is made with

ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder Pouch — The same fine gud powder in resealable 500 g and 1 kg zip pouches
ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder — Fine gur shakkar that melts into tea, coffee and milk
ShuddhGaon Jaggery Combo — Cubes for the cup, powder for the kitchen

More recipes with gur

All jaggery recipes