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India has always been the melting pot of fusion cultures being the meeting point of diverse cultures. Such a product from this symbiotic platform was our simple daily Halwa. Halwa is not of Indian origin and came to India after the Islamic rule started. Halwa originated from the word Halvah which is Arabic and it is said that it existed in Byzantine empire even as far as 3000 BC.

But historically, Halwa was mentioned first in the Arabic cookbook Kitab-al-Tabikh around 13th century and included seven variations. A cookbook from Moorish Spain in the same era tells of rolling out a sheet of candy (made of boiled sugar, honey, sesame oil and flour), sprinkling it with rosewater, sugar and ground pistachios, and covering it with a second layer of candy before cutting it into triangles. Then Halwa spread across Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India.

Halwa is mainly of two types of bases - flour and nuts. In India, it is mainly the flour base Halwas that is on our table. Halwas in India are of diverse varieties depending on the location. Like in North India, there is the seasonal Carrot or Gajar ka Halwa which is a Punjabi delicacy. In Lucknow, there is Ande ka Halwa for winters to keep one self warm. Then there are Kayashtha Halwas wich are mostly cooked out of semolina, or grated vegetables like long gourd or white gourd. In south India, in Karnataka, there is the Brahmin sweet Keshari Baath which is sold in many sweet shops.Kerala due to it's open coast line had foreign communication through thousand of years. Kerala has a special halwa named Kozhikode Halwa. In Tamilnadu, there is a Tirunelveli Halwa which was started by a nearby zamindar who brought in Rajput cooks to cook Halwa. The family of the cook settled down in the place and opened their shop selling Sark Halwa which s actually a 3 day old Halwa.

Do you know that every year, before our Budget preparation starts by the Ministry of Finance, the officers in the ministry of IRS cadre starts the preparation by eating a bowl of Halwa?! It goes in the North Block for 10 days. This is continuing since 1952 by the Indian Govt.