Chana daal halva infused with saffron, cloves & cardamom

 Make halva using chana daal (split baby chickpeas). It's a tasty sweet treat that tastes of saffron, cloves, and cardamom and is studded with nuts.

Ingredients

• 400g chana daal, soaked overnight
• 750ml whole milk (or use soya or almond milk)
• 2 tbsp ghee or 1 tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 6 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 6 cloves
• 340g golden caster sugar
• small pinch of saffron
• 2 tbsp chopped pistachios
• 2 tbsp chopped almonds

Method

Put the chana daal in a big bowl, cover it with water, and let it sit there overnight. Drain, then put the food in a large pot. Pour the milk on top and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down to medium and let it simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until all the milk has been absorbed.

Set it aside for 20–30 minutes, or until it's room temperature. Put everything in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms a smooth paste. If it's too thick, add a splash of water.

In a saucepan, heat the ghee (or the oil and butter) over low to medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the cardamom and cloves and cook for a few seconds until the smell is nice.

Add the blended lentil paste and cook for 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until it starts to smell nutty and turns a light brown color. Take the pan off the stove.

In another saucepan (or you could wash the one you used for the milk), heat the sugar and 100ml of water over medium heat for 10–12 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and a sugar thermometer reads 104C. It should have a sticky look. Take off the heat.

Pour the mixture into the lentils, add the saffron, and stir well until smooth. Let the halva sit in the pan for about 30 minutes, or until it is cool enough to work with.

Use your hands to roll tablespoons of the halva into cylinders. Place them on a plate and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top. You can serve it right away or let it cool down and keep it in the fridge for up to four days.

Information

Saffron :

India makes the most saffron of any country in the world. More than 95% of the world's saffron comes from this country, which makes it a good crop for farmers who can grow it.

Saffron is often used in desserts and rice-based dishes, among other things. Saffron is also used in cosmetics to make people look younger and to treat asthma, arthritis, bronchitis, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, erectile dysfunction, anxiety disorders, and many other health problems.

Cloves :

Cloves are a well-known spice that have been used for hundreds of years in cooking and medicine. Cloves are the dried flower buds of the clove tree, which have a strong smell.

Ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Greeks valued cloves a lot because they thought their smell kept away evil spirits. Cloves were also thought to have healing properties by the ancient Romans. For example, they thought cloves could help with cold symptoms, toothaches, and diarrhea.

Today, there is a huge demand for clove, especially in places like India where it is most often used in dishes like chicken curry, fish curry, and masala mix dishes.