A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ H for Halwa Holigalu / Halwa Bobbatlu

It's time for 'H' dish in my A - Z Andhra Cuisine journey. The only Andhra dishes that I could think of starting with 'H' were halwa and holigalu, if I did not travel to the capital city of the state, Hyderabad. Coincidentally, the name of the city also starts with 'H' and have some famous 'H' dishes like Hyderabadi biryani and Haleem, which unfortunately have no relevance to my vegetarian cooking. There are no fruits, vegetables or ingredients starting with 'H' in Telugu and I was forced to think around the only available two choices. 

A halwa without any prefix in Andhra usually means the one made using semolina / rava, that is also served as 'prasadam' during Satyanarayana Vratham (a religious food offering). The same halwa when prepared using orange food coloring becomes rava kesari, since kesari refers to the color orange in this context. This halwa can be eaten as it is, or used as a stuffing for traditional Andhra dishes such as appalu and boorelu / sukheelu which are called sojjappalu and halwa boorelu respectively. I had to let go the idea of 'halwa boorelu' option because of the deep frying part.

Holigalu aka bobbatlu or poli in Andhra is the sweet stuffed flatbread and is equally popular traditional dish in some of the other Indian states as well. The dal - jaggery / sugar (where the dal used can be split chick peas, moong dal or lentils) and the coconut - sugar stuffing are most commonly used ones while all the other stuffing variations are spin-offs conceived by creative minds. I could have used the traditional sweet split chickpea and jaggery stuffing to end up with 'Holigalu' post for my 'H' dish as I haven't posted it yet. However using the halwa stuffing seemed more convenient and quicker since no one in my home bothers about holigalu except me and so toiling around in kitchen made no sense. Besides I get to use both the words 'halwa' and 'holigalu' in the same dish. ☺

My mother who loves holigalu since her childhood is an expert in churning out super thin, flaky holigalu like Kannadigas do and everyone in my parents' home love them. Even my little nieces enjoy them and keep begging my mother constantly to prepare them. It is quite opposite in my home and no one cares even to touch them and so, I don't even bother trying. This is my second trial of poli making in my two decades of married life. The coconut stuffed one and the lentil / kandipappu version, I have posted were prepared by my mother. I neither used as much as oil as my mother uses in today's recipe nor achieved her results but I was happy with what I ended up with. And any kind of halwa without the garnishing of nuts and raisins can be used for the filling.

Ingredients for the outer layer: (make 7)
1 cup all purpose flour + extra for dusting if needed
2 to 3 tbsp. fine semolina
A pinch of salt
2 pinches of turmeric powder
1 tbsp. oil
Scant 1/2 cup water

Ingredients for halwa:
1 cup water
1/2 cup semolina
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar *
1 tbsp. ghee
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
Ghee to make holigas
(* 1/2 cup sugar will yield subtly sweet holigas.)
 
Method:
* Combine flour, semolina, salt and turmeric in a mixing bowl. Add water in increments (or as needed) to form a firm but plaible dough. Add oil and knead the dough for about five minutes. Cover and let it rest for about an hour or so.

* Heat ghee in a pan and toast semolina on medium flame continuously stirring, until it starts to change the color. Transfer the semolina onto a plate and keep it aside.
* To the same pan, add water and bring to a boil. Add semolina in a slow flow, rapidly stirring so that no lumps are formed. Next add sugar and cardamom to the pan, stir once more and cook covered, on low flame. Turn off the stove when semolina is cooked. Take off the pan from the stove and let the halwa cool. Shape the mixture into lime sized balls.
 
* Divide the dough for the outer layer into 7 portions. Roll them between your palms into balls and gently press into discs. Roll a disc thinly, dusting the work surface with flour if necessary (I didn't have to use any). Place the filling at the center and bring the edges together and press lightly, so that the filling will not spill out. Again roll the disc as thin as possible.

* Heat a griddle and place the rolled out disc on it. Toast it using a tsp. of ghee, flipping intermittently until you see brown spots on both sides. Repeat the steps with the remaining batter. 
* Serve them warm with a dollop of ghee. Leftovers can be refrigerated / frozen.
Reheat the frozen / refrigerated holigas on a griddle or in a microwave before serving. No need to thaw them.

So far on A - Z Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.

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