Karachi Halwa is a sweet made with cornstarch and is known for its characteristic chewy texture. It is the perfect treat for festive occasions, takes some time to put it together but its flavor makes up for all the hard work!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 75 minutes
  • Total time: 85 minutes
  • Yield: 16 pieces
  • Category: Side Dish, Sweets
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cornstarch (140 grams, or use cornflour)
  • 3 + 3/4 cup water (900 ml, divided)
  • 2 cups granulated white sugar (400 grams)
  • 1/4 teaspoon citric acid (or use 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
  • 6-7 tablespoons ghee (90-105 ml)
  • orange food color (mixed with 1/2 tablespoon water)
  • 2 tablespoons melon seeds (+ more to garnish)
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • splashes kewra water (or rose water)
  • chopped pistachios (to garnish)

Method

  1. Start by taking cornstarch in a bowl. Add 3 & 1/4 cups of water (780 ml) of water. Stir very well until cornstarch dissolves. Set this aside.
  2. To a pan on medium heat, add 2 cups (400 grams) of sugar. To that add the remaining 1/2 cup (120 ml) of water. Stir and let the sugar dissolve completely. Add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid as the sugar is dissolving. This helps prevent crystallization.
  3. Then lower the heat and add the prepared cornstarch mix (stir it before adding else cornstarch settles at the bottom when left unattended). After around 8 to 9 minutes, the mixture will start forming lumps. It will seem very lumpy, but don't worry and just keep stirring.
  4. In just a few more minutes (after around 13 to 14 minutes of adding the cornstarch mix to the pan), the mixture will turn smooth and quite thick. Now, we start adding ghee, 1 tablespoon at a time.
  5. Add 1 tablespoon and mix until ghee is completely absorbed by the mixture. Once it's completely absorbed only then add the next tablespoon. Add around 6 to 7 tablespoons of ghee (I added 7 tablespoons) in around 10 minutes total time, stirring well after each tablespoon addition. You will notice the mixture will become quite shiny at this stage and also become thicker.
  6. Add food color at this point (I added a little orange color which I dissolved in 1/2 tablespoon water and then added to the pan). Stir 5 more mins after adding the color. You can skip adding the color or add saffron for natural color.
  7. Then add 2 tablespoons of melon seeds. Cook for 10 more minutes, stirring often. Remember the heat is low.
  8. Add 1 teaspoon cardamom powder and a few splashes of kewra water and stir. You can also use rose water in place of kewra water. Keep cooking and stirring, you will notice the texture of halwa change.
  9. After 1 hour of cooking, you will see ghee leaving from the sides of the mixture and start turning like rubber. I increased heat to medium for the last 10 minutes of cooking but kept stirring regularly. The mixture will not be smooth anymore but rather difficult to stir. It took me around 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach this stage.
  10. To test if the halwa is done: take a small portion of the mixture and pull it apart (see picture no. 18 above for reference). It should stretch like rubber, if not it needs to be cooked more. Look for this texture rather than the mentioned timing because timing can vary depending on thickness of the pan, intensity of heat and quality of ingredients being used. It can take you anywhere between 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes to reach this stage. You have to cook until this stage for the halwa to turn chewy. If you don't cook until this stage then halwa will be soft and not chewy.
  11. Once you have reached that consistency, remove from heat and transfer the mixture to a greased pan lined with parchment paper. I used an 8-inch square pan. Top with more melon seeds and chopped nuts like pistachios or cashews. Let it set for 2 to 3 hours.
  12. Then cut into pieces, you can cut them into small or big pieces. In Delhi we would usually have these big rectangular pieces at sweet shops. You can wrap individual pieces in plastic sheets to make them look like how you would find them at sweet shops in Delhi.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.