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A lotus labour
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This lotus seed halwa is worth the effort
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Photo: S. Subramanium
Flower Power Kamal gatte ka halwa is a treat with a difference
Lotus seeds are commonly available in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, West Bengal and even Kashmir. But I first saw this lotus seed halwa in a wedding in Varanasi.
I spent four years there. Four years of ‘vanvas’ you can say! But actually I had a good time.
A couple of other chefs and I used to drive down to the dhabbas on the outskirts. We used to make our own food there. We would tell the dhaba owner – “Theek hai, ab hum khud apni dal banaenge!”
Those were good days…
It is a rather laborious process to make this halwa. You have to soak the seeds for 24 hours overnight. Then you have to make a paste.
It requires time and effort. It’s no surprise that it’s made mainly for weddings. But it is worth the effort! It really has a unique taste.
In fact, for this preparation I even got the seeds from Varanasi. I’ve made this dish especially for the ongoing Banarasi food festival. Varanasi is famous for its sweets.
And this lotus seed halwa is something special from there.
Kamal gatte ka halwa Ingredients
1 kg broken lotus seeds
400 gms ghee
200 gm sugar
50 gms almond 25 gms pista
Method
Soak broken lotus seeds in cold water for at least 12 hours. Remove the black hard skin from the top and peel the green skin from the seed.
Wash them thoroughly in running water and make a granular paste. Heat the ghee in a thick bottom kadhai (not an iron vessel, otherwise the halwa will turn black in colour), add the lotus seed paste, and keep cooking slowly until the paste turn pinkish in colour. At this stage, you can remove the excess ghee from the mixture.
Make a sugar syrup with the grain sugar and 500 ml of water. Add the syrup and cook until the halwa is thick and well cooked. Garnish it with sliced almond and pista. Serve hot.
(Shiva Nand Kain is the Senior Executive Chef at Jaypee Siddharth, New Delhi)
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