A soft and fluffy sweet halwa from Dina Begum's ancestral region of Sylhet in Bangladesh ~ Tusha Shinni. Pops of plump black raisins delight in every bite of the halwa made with ghee-toasted wheat flour and a spiced sugar syrup infused with cardamom pods and true cinnamon quills. The recipe is borrowed from Dina's gorgeous new cookbook 'Made in Bangladesh' with some slight modifications.

~ Gather Your Ingredients ~

150g Plain, all-purpose flour

3 tbsp Ghee

135g Granulated sugar (or coconut sugar as used in this recipe)

6 pods of Chola Cardamom pods [Add to cart]

1 quill of Kandy Cinnamon  [Add to cart]

1 large Bay leaf

10-12 Black raisins

6-8 Cashew nuts (optional, used in this recipe)

~ Preparation Instructions ~

1. To make the sugar syrup, add water to a saucepan and bring it to boil over a high heat. Then add the cinnamon quill & opened cardamom pods. Stir in the coconut sugar and let it dissolve. Reduce the heat to low and leave the syrup to simmer.

2. Heat ghee in a separate wide frying pan over medium-heat. Add the bay leaf and cashews and then stir in the flour, toasting for about 10-12 minutes. Stir continuously to avoid the flour from burning. Add in the raisins too. The flour will form slightly clumpy at first. but will eventually change to a sandy texture.

3. Once nutty and aromatic, you'll know the flour is ready. This is the time to add the spiced syrup.

4. Pour the syrup into the flour and ghee mixture. Working quickly, stir the mixture well to avoid any dry spots of flour around the sides of the pan.

5. The halwa mixture will now slightly stick along, but will be soft and fluffy as all ingredients comes together. 

6. Serve hot along a cup of tea or Gurer Doodh Cha, another recipe from Dina Begum's book 'Made in Bangladesh'.