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Vegetarian · Punjab

Halwa Puri

Halwa puri made at home: semolina halwa cooked in ghee with sugar syrup and cardamom, a spiced chickpea curry, and soft wheat puri fried until they puff.

By Ayesha Iftikhar

Street food — Lahore and other Punjabi cities
20 min prep1 hr 20 min total4 servingsEasy
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Puri being fried for halwa puri in the Walled City of Lahore
Photo: Tahsin Shah, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Three dishes, one breakfast

The classic weekend breakfast: puffed fried puri with a spicy chickpea curry and sweet semolina halwa.

Halwa puri is a combination plate, so the work is in timing. The halwa holds well and the chickpeas improve as they sit, so both are made first and the puri are fried last, just before eating.

What is halwa puri?

Halwa puri is one of Pakistan’s best-known breakfasts, especially on Sundays and holidays in Punjab and Karachi. It brings together puri (small deep-fried breads that puff up in hot oil), cholay (a spiced chickpea curry) and a sweet semolina halwa cooked in ghee. Most people buy it from specialist shops, but it is entirely possible to make at home.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Use fine semolina for the smoothest halwa. Roasting it slowly in ghee until it smells nutty is what gives the halwa its flavour; pale semolina tastes raw. Puri dough should be stiffer than roti dough so the puri puff and do not absorb oil. Rolling them with a little oil instead of dry flour keeps the frying oil clean.

Common mistakes

Pouring cold water into the roasted semolina makes lumps; the syrup must be hot. Frying puri in oil that is not hot enough leaves them flat and greasy, so check the temperature with a small piece of dough, which should rise at once.

What to serve with it

Serve on one plate with pickle, sliced onion and a glass of lassi or a cup of chai. Many people like to eat it as halwa and puri together, then chickpeas and puri, alternating sweet and savoury.

Storage and reheating

Halwa keeps for three days in the fridge and reheats well in a pan with a splash of water. Cholay keep for three days and taste better the next day. Puri are best eaten freshly fried.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my halwa lumpy?

The liquid was not hot enough or was added too slowly. Pour boiling syrup into the roasted semolina in one go and stir hard until smooth.

Why do my puri not puff?

The oil is not hot enough, the dough is too soft, or the puri is rolled unevenly. Use a stiff dough, roll evenly, and fry in oil at about 180°C, pressing gently with a slotted spoon.

COOK THIS RECIPE

Halwa Puri

Prep 20 minCook 1 hrTotal 1 hr 20 min
Servings4

Ingredients

Halwa

Cholay

Puri

Serving

Method

  1. Make the puri dough. Mix the flour and salt, rub in 1 tbsp oil, then add the water gradually to make a firm, smooth dough, stiffer than roti dough. Knead for 3 minutes, cover and rest for 20 minutes while you make the halwa and cholay.
  2. Cook the halwa. Bring the water, sugar and cardamom to a boil, stir until the sugar dissolves, add the colouring if using and keep the syrup hot. In a heavy pan, melt the ghee over medium-low heat, add the semolina and stir constantly for 8–10 minutes until it smells nutty and turns pale gold. Pour in the hot syrup carefully, as it will spit, and stir hard until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides, 3–5 minutes. Stir in the almonds, cover and keep warm.
  3. Cook the cholay. Heat the 4 tbsp oil and fry the cumin seeds until they crackle. Add the onion and fry until golden, then the ginger-garlic paste for a minute. Add the tomatoes, chilli, turmeric, coriander and salt and cook until the tomatoes break down and the oil separates, about 8 minutes. Add the chickpeas and 250 ml water, simmer for 10 minutes and mash a few chickpeas against the pan to thicken the gravy. Finish with the garam masala.
  4. Roll and fry the puri. Divide the dough into 12 balls and roll each into a 10–12 cm circle, with a dab of oil rather than flour so the oil stays clean. Heat the frying oil to 180°C. Slide in one puri at a time and press it gently with a slotted spoon until it puffs, about 20 seconds, then flip and fry 20 seconds more until light golden. Drain on a rack.
  5. Serve together. Serve the puri hot with the cholay, the warm halwa and pickle on the side. The usual way to eat it is to tear the puri and use it to scoop up both.
tarkatales.com/recipes/halwa-puri

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