The day and night leading up to Rosh Hashanah were always busy with culinary preparations when Shamira Malekar was growing up in Bombay. A relative sought out the head of a goat that would be served with the hopes that the family would be the head, not the tail in the year to come. And, on some years, a family member would prepare mutton biryani.
Shamira remembers one of her tasks was helping stir chik-cha halwa, a sweet made with coconut and wheat starch, or crystals as Shamira calls them. Women in her family gathered in the kitchen to make it together, starting by soaking the wheat and grinding fresh coconut to make milk. Then they stirred the creamy mixture as it cooked for hours, adding saffron to lend it a golden hue and dried fruit for sweetness. When it was ready, they packed up pieces of halwa along with treats from local markets to share with relatives and friends.
Her mother Ruby, who is 75, remembers the same tradition of cooking halwa with her own mother and aunty when she was little and the family celebrated the holiday in her grandfather’s village Shrivardhan.
It’s a signature of the Bene Israel, India’s largest Jewish community, which according to their traditions descends from one of the lost 10 tribes of Israel who were shipwrecked off the coast of India. Each family’s halwa is slightly different, explains Shamira, but the custom of enjoying it on the holiday is widespread.
Today, she splits her time between Surrey in England and New Jersey. When she visits India, she picks up a bag of chik-cha so she can make the halwa for Rosh Hashanah wherever she is. Since it is hard to source in the U.S., Shamira recommends substituting cornstarch, which is easy to find and takes less time to cook.
We recommend following Shamira’s lead and boxing up portions of halwa for friends and loved ones this holiday season.
Note: Saffron can be quite expensive, and is often sold in very small quantities. We found that as little as ⅛ teaspoon adds a lovely golden color and subtly sweet floral flavor to the halwa, but if you’d prefer a more pronounced color and flavor, add up to ½ teaspoon.
This recipe comes from a collaboration between Momentum and the Jewish Food Society. Find more recipes from this collection at "Recipes from the Momentum Community", created with the help of Rebecca Firsker and Ame Gilbert.
