Halva

Halva (halawa, alva, haleweh, halava, helava, helva, halwa, halua, aluva, chalva) is any of various dense, sweet confections, served across South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Balkans, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Malta and the Jewish world.

The Sanskrit term halva (Arabic: حلاوة‎ ḥalāwah / حلوى ḥalwá, Malayalam: അലുവ, Tamil: அல்வா, Odia: ହଲୁଆ, Bengali: হালুয়া, Urdu: حلوہ ‎, Hebrew: חלווה ‎,) means a mixture, and its maker (confectioner/baker) is called a "Halwai". In global, popular usage it means "desserts" or "sweet", and describes two types of desserts:

Halva may also be based on various other ingredients, including sunflower seeds, nut varieties, beans, lentils, and vegetables such as carrots, pumpkins, yams and squashes.

Halva can be kept at room temperature with little risk of spoilage. However, during hot summer months, it is better kept refrigerated, as it can turn runny after several days.

Etymology

The word halva entered the English language between 1840 and 1850 from the Yiddish halva. The latter term came from the Turkish helva, a word which itself ultimately derived from the Arabic: حلوى‎ ḥalwá, meaning sweet confection. The Arabic root حلو ḥelw means "sweet".