Sohan Halwa is the jewel of Multan’s confectionary tradition and one of the most misunderstood sweets on the subcontinent: not a halwa in any recognisable soft, spoonable sense, but a hard, chewy, crystalline confection made from concentrated wheat starch, ghee and sugar, set into slabs studded with pistachios and saffron. It is the pride of Multan — a city famous for heat, saints and this halwa — and the wooden crates of Sohan Halwa that Multanis carry as gifts to Karachi and Lahore serve the same purpose as Kashmiri saffron or Bengali rosogulla: an edible announcement of where you are from. It is bought, not made at home — the technique requires steady professional heat — and this recipe is the closest a home kitchen can come.
Zone: Indus Plains
SOURCE: Multani confectioner, recipe tradition documented in Pakistani food writing, 2019
LOCAL NAME: سوہن حلوہ
INGREDIENTS
- 4 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)
- 200 ml full-fat milk
- 300 g sugar
- 100 ml water
- 4 tbsp ghee
- a generous pinch of saffron (soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk)
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 50 g pistachios (slivered)
- 1 tbsp rose water
METHOD
- Mix the cornstarch with the milk until smooth with no lumps. Set aside.
- Combine the sugar and water in a heavy, thick-based pan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling, stop stirring. Cook to a one-thread consistency (105°C).
- Pour the cornstarch-milk mixture into the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly. The mixture will seize and thicken dramatically. Keep stirring over medium heat.
- Add the ghee a tablespoon at a time, stirring each addition fully in before adding the next. The mixture will pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Add the saffron milk, cardamom and rose water. Continue stirring and cooking on medium heat for 15–20 minutes more until the mixture is very stiff, caramel-coloured and beginning to crystallise at the edges. It should be difficult to stir.
- Grease a flat tray or marble slab. Pour the halwa out quickly and spread to about 1cm thick. Scatter pistachios over and press in gently.
- Cool completely until set hard, 1–2 hours. Break or cut into pieces. Sohan halwa keeps for 2 weeks in an airtight container.
NOTES
UK adaptation: Cornstarch (cornflour) as the accessible equivalent of wheat starch; food-grade wheat starch from some South Asian or Middle Eastern baking suppliers. Saffron and pistachios from any supermarket or South Asian grocer. Everything else widely available.
US adaptation: Cornstarch from any grocery store. Saffron from specialty grocery stores or online. Pistachios from any grocery store. Everything else widely available.
Cook’s note: Sohan halwa must reach the hard-crack stage before it is poured — if it is poured too early it will not set firm and will remain sticky. Test a small drop in cold water; it should harden immediately.
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