Somali Sweet Halwadhalwohalwa Recipes

Steps:

• Crush the ginger with the bottom of a heavy pot or the blunt edge of a knife and set aside. Place the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and peppercorns in a mortar and crush with a pestle until coarsely ground (or crush on a countertop or on a cutting board with the bottom of a heavy pot). Transfer the spices to a medium saucepan set over medium heat and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ginger, water, tea, and sugar and increase the heat to high. Once bubbles form around the edge, immediately reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk and let it cook for just 1 minute to warm the milk, then turn off the heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a teapot, pitcher, or straight into tea mugs. Serve immediately while hot and add more sugar to taste if you'd like.

Steps:

• In a bowl mix 1 cup of water with the corn starch and food coloring, mix well until smooth.
• In a no stick pan on medium high add the remaining water, white sugar and brown sugar. Stir well until sugar is fully dissolved. Once small bubbles have started to form (not a full boil) add the corn starch mixture.
• Stir constantly until it just starts to thicken then add the oil. Stir well. Reduce heat to low. Stir for 30 seconds every 15 minutes adding 2 tablespoons of butter/ghee each time to incorporate. (Do not over stir) It will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes or so for the Halwo to become very thick and a lot of tiny bubbles will form.
• When that happens add the cardamom powder, nutmeg and nuts (if using). Stir well and pour the Halwo into a dish/cake pan. You may use a very small cake pan that is 6" X 9" for a thick halwo. It will fill that size pan to the top.
• Let cool on unrefrigerated, 3 hours for the small pan. Once fully cooled, turn pan upside down onto a plate and the Halwo will slide out.
• Cut and Serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Make the xawaash: In a medium bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
• Heat a medium oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil, onion, tomato, garlic, and cinnamon stick. Cook until the onions have softened slightly, 5-6 minutes.
• Season with salt, then add the vegetable stock cube and cilantro. Cook for 1 minute, breaking up the stock cube.
• Reduce the heat to medium, then stir in the xawaash and soaked rice. Cook for about 3 minutes so rice grains lightly toast.
• Pour in the hot water and increase the heat to high to bring to a boil. Cover the pot, transfer to the oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Check periodically to be sure the rice has enough water.
• Remove the cooked rice from the oven and drizzle the red and orange food colorings on top. Gently mix so there are different colored grains.
• Sprinkle the raisins over the hot rice, cover, and set aside.
• To prepare the topping, mix the potatoes with the orange food coloring in a medium bowl (wear gloves to avoid stained fingers!).
• Heat about 1 inch ( 2 cm) of oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the potatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes, then transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil.
• In the same oil, fry the onion slices until browned and crispy, 2-3 minutes. Add the red peppers cooking for an additional minute. Drain on paper towels.
• To assemble the rice, transfer the pilaf to a large serving platter. Top with the fried potatoes, crispy onions, and red bell peppers.
• Enjoy!