Friday, April 8, 2022

Halwa and Hummus

 Food from home:

There is a city called Thirunelveli in TamilNadu. Ask any Tamilian what comes to mind when we say Thirunelveli and the immediate reply would be halwa.

The city is renowned for its sweet dessert otherwise called "Thirunelveli Halwa". 

Halwa is a basically semi solid glossy dessert made with ghee and sugar and some basic ingredient like carrot, wheat flour or semolina.  The aforementioned one from Thirunelveli is made using wheat flour.

In Tamil weddings a commonly served sweet is the Ashoka halwa which is basically made using mashed yellow lentils(moong dal).

We even make halwa with vegetables like carrots or white pumpkin. 

The basic ingredient plus the sugar and ghee are cooked on a flame till the right consistency is reached. I recently saw a youtube video where someone transformed left over rice into yummy looking halwa! 

I recall a funny story that i read somewhere or saw on TV. There is some situation which warrants a guy to be silent or not give away some secret and so they  make halwa using glue and offer it him. He greedily gobbles it up and his mouth gets stuck. Ha ha!



 Image credit: Wikimedia commons

Food from other lands :

Hummus! I am yet to figure out the correct pronounciation for this lovely food item from the middle east. In one of my previous workplaces there was this coffee shop where I would often grab a quick breakfast. My favorite used to be whole meal bread sandwich with a hummus and kale filling. I have not tried making it at home as it needs some additional flavourings like tahini but its on my would-love-to-try list!

Food for thought:

For H its not a quote but a single word.

"HELLO" 

This has been incorporated into many a language in the world as its the standard greeting uttered at the beginning of a phone conversation. 

There would always be someone on our minds we wanted to get in touch with or reconnect or just talk to as its been a while.

Sometimes we keep pushing it to a corner of our minds dealing with daily mundane runs. We just click the button and make that call. They would be happy and so would we. 

A little care can bring about a lot of happiness!!






15 comments:

  1. Hello Jayashree! hummus is a regular part of our weekly menu.. and I do wish halwa can be too. however, I will stick to treating myself to halwa every once in a while..My H post is here

    ReplyDelete
  2. A bowl of hummus and some snacks to dip i it, bliss!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't want to boast but I make amazing Hummus. I love hummus and pita bread ka combo.
    And yes... hello ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I had hummus first in a Lebanese restaurant here. It's yummy... that halwa joke from a movie is funny :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am not familiar with halwa, but it sounds very versatile. I have made hummus before, but decided it's easier to buy it. My husband, in particular, eats a lot of it and has a favorite brand.

    Thanks for visiting me during A-Z.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Indeed just a little caring can bring a happiness. My dog wagged his tail at some guys getting petrol. They left waving with big smiles.
    I used to make hummus with Tahini but I dont often have it. It's easy if you have chickpeas and olive oil - there's your base. From there I use garlic to give some flavor and tumeric and curry - yumm. It's so easy as long as you have a foodprocessor.
    Thanks for giving us a smile each day!
    Hiding in 1991

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only have a blender.... no food processor ... will try nevertheless

      Delete
  7. Hello. Hello.
    I like Hello, but not jello:)
    Sorry--in a rhyming mood after reading the title of this post--both I love. But I prefer 'daal or gajar ka halwa'.
    You may know that it was ashtami yesterday. So, I got my annual fill of poori, halwa and channaa prasad.
    I'm in food heaven:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just made some hummus and now we almost out. Halwa looks really good! I'll have to see if my local international grocer has it. They have plenty of ghee and I bet my son could make it; he is a chef.

    --
    Tim Brannan
    The Other Side | The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories

    ReplyDelete
  9. I had a friend in hostel who always brought Thirunelveli halwa after holidays. That's how I know of it. It tasted awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have not had halwa (though it sounds delicious) or hummus (readily available here where I live, just haven't ever bought any to try; maybe some day). Saying hello to you as part of visiting from the A to Z Challenge :)

    betty
    https://benchsnotebook.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've never had halwa but I do love hummus. We have a middle eastern restaurant here called Moby Dick and they have the best hummus. It's made in the restaurant.
    I love languages. I'm really bad it but I have been slowly learning how to say hello and good-bye in as many languages as possible...it's very slow going.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just recently learned about halwa on another blog. Sounds interesting. If it's sweet then I'm ready to try it.

    Hummus I have every once in a while. I love Mediterranean food and hummus on fresh pita bread is one of my favorites.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
  13. The halwa scene would have been funny! I am not much a fan of sweets, but Hummus and Pita is love!!! I have one more very beautiful, powerful word for H, one that I am a super fan of - Hope!!

    Here's my post for H:
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    ReplyDelete
  14. Waaoww Jayshree the mouth watering halwa review is really impressive and inspiring. It's my favorite sweetdish in all its variations.😋
    Although I m not a big fan of Hummus.😇
    And Hello is a better conversation starter than its tiny counterpart 'Hi'😍

    ReplyDelete