Water Chestnut flour is something that I recently got acquainted with. Thanks to my friend Monika. A few weeks ago when we were at their home for dinner, she told me about this flour which is called as ‘singhare ka atta’ in India and how this flour is used during religious fasting periods called as Vrat. She said that this flour came from water chestnuts and hence it is grain free. Wow, I was so happy to hear this and the next time I was at our local indian grocery store, I picked up a bag of this flour. I couldn’t wait to try this for making parathas as Monika had suggested!
I did make the parathas with aloo(potatoes) in them since that was the only way to make the dough. The parathas were good and now I started browsing more recipes using singhare ka atta. There are all sorts of things that showed up – dosas, samosas, etc and I started to drool looking at all these foods that are forbidden for me on my current grain free diet. I was feeling so excited already and then I saw the recipe for ‘singhare ka halwa’! Omg! I couldn’t believe my eyes! Halwa has always been my favorite Indian dessert and for the past two years I have not had halwa being dairy free , gluten free and sugar free! So looking at this recipe, I imagined the possibility of a halwa in the near future for me. That was incredible! If it came out good, Monika, my friend deserved a treat from me!
And today happened to be the perfect day to try this recipe since it was Janmashtami which is Lord Krishna’s birthday. I started seeing all kinds of Indian traditional sweets recipes posted on instagram and in the afternoon, it was time for me to try making the singhara atta ka halwa.!
Turned out great – satisfied my halwa cravings totally. Even though I used coconut oil instead of ghee and maple syrup instead of sugar. The chestnut flour itself has a nutty taste and aroma so the halwa tastes rich even without any ghee or milk in it.
Water Chestnut flour Halwa (Singhare ka Halwa) – Grain free, Dairy Free
Notes
You can use either coconut oil or palm shortening but palm shortening gives it a richer taste!
Always heat the water before adding to the roasted flour to enable easier mixing otherwise you might get lumps.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water chest nut flour or singhare ka atta
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 4 tbsp coconut oil or 2 tbsp palm shortening
- 4 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder (optional)
- cashew nut pieces-5-6 (optional, omit for AIP)
- shredded coconut- 1 tsp (optional)
Instructions
- In a kadai (wok style pan) or a broad bottom pan, add the water chest nut flour and roast it on medium heat stirring continuously. Keep roasting for around 3-4 mins on medium heat until it turns to light brown color.
- Now add the salt and the coconut oil or the palm shortening and again stir to blend it in with the flour.
- Once it forms into a sticky mass (about 2-3 mins later) add the hot water, salt, maple syrup and cardamom powder(if adding). Stir continuously till you get a smooth halwa consistency.
- Turn heat off and top with cashew nut pieces (if adding) and shredded coconut.
