Tirunelveli halwa, also known as Godhumai halwa, is an iconic Tamil Nadu festive sweet famous for its glossy, melt-in-mouth texture and rich ghee aroma. This is an easy version made using wheat flour instead of whole samba godhumai, coming together deliciously with video and step-by-step photos!
My mom & dad are basically from Tirunelveli, Tamil nadu but settled in Salem. But all our relatives are in & around Tirunelveli. Right from my childhood, we used to travel there at least once in 6 months to my thatha aachi’s house. Most of my summer vacations are spent there. My thatha used to buy the most popular Iruttukadai Halwa and Oma podi from Shanthi sweets for teatime without fail. Having tasted this Halwa for N number of times, I have never imagined myself trying it at home.
In 2010, I watched few video recipes and tried Tirunelveli halwa recipe for the first time. Though it tasted the same like TVL halwa, I used food color to bring its brown color. At that time, I was not aware of certain tips and tricks to make a perfect Tirunelveli halwa without adding food color. And now after seeing so many websites and video recipes, I came to know its technique. So I wanted to make it again and post it in my blog for this Diwali.
Authentic Tirunelveli halwa calls for soaking and grinding Samba Godhumai (Whole wheat grains), extracting the milk (Godhumai paal) and fermenting it overnight. I followed this method for my earlier recipe. But this time, I simplified its procedure by combining the methods of easy wheat flour halwa recipe in Jeyashri’s blog and traditional Tirunelveli halwa recipe from Dosa to pizza YouTube video recipe. I altered the quantity of ingredients and changed the procedure accordingly. I made it using instant wheat flour (Godhumai maavu), used oil + Ghee to bring its texture and added caramelized sugar to bring its color naturally. Wow, You won’t believe me, it came out very close to original Tirunelveli halwa in both color & texture. There is no compromise in taste with the authentic halwa.
Generally Thirunelveli halwa is not made into pieces. So you don’t need to look for any sugar syrup consistency. This halwa itself will show you the correct stage to remove it. So beginners can also dare to attempt this recipe at home. But the most important thing you need is “PATIENCE”. Yes, This halwa takes around one hour for preparation & cooking time but the end result will make you forget all the pain and get credits from your family members for sure. I got tempted by the pictures of Halwa kadai online website and clicked my halwa in a leaf. I am very happy to see the ghee dripping hot halwa in the picture as I wished. So here you go, the world famous Tirunelveli halwa recipe using wheat flour in an easy way with step by step photos and a detailed video tutorial just for you all.
If you are looking to try the traditional method, do check my Traditional Tirunelveli Halwa Recipe too, as well as my famous Thiruvaiyaru Ashoka Halwa Recipe!
Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens
- Flour Choice: Store-bought whole wheat atta like Aashirvaad, Pillsbury or Sujata (available at Patel Brothers, Indian grocers or online) works wonderfully. No need to hunt for whole wheat berries.
- Cloth Straining: Use a clean cotton cheesecloth or thin muslin cloth lined over a colander to strain the wheat milk smoothly without letting flour sediments pass into the kadai.
- Stovetop Heat Control: On electric coil or glass flat-top stoves, maintain steady medium heat (levels 4 to 5) while stirring. When caramelizing the sugar and during the final 5 minutes when ghee oozes, lower to level 3 so the halwa remains glossy without scorching.
- Fat Balance: Pure unsalted desi ghee (such as Nanak or Verka) paired with neutral sunflower or canola oil gives the authentic shiny halwa texture without feeling greasy. Avoid groundnut oil or olive oil, which alters the traditional halwa flavor.
Tirunelveli Halwa Recipe With Wheat Flour (Godhumai Halwa)
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 cup Wheat flour (atta) (approx. 120 g / 4.2 oz – Pillsbury or Aashirvaad)
- 5 cups Water for soaking dough (approx. 1.2 liters / 40 fl oz) + extra to knead
- 2 to 2 ¼ cups Sugar (approx. 400 to 450 g / 14 to 16 oz)
- ¼ cup Sugar to caramelize (approx. 50 g / 1.8 oz)
- 1 cup Ghee + 1 tbsp (approx. 240 ml / 8 fl oz)
- ⅓ cup Cooking oil (approx. 80 ml / 2.7 fl oz – use odourless refined oil)
- 10 to 12 nos Cashews split into halves
Instructions
- Take 1 cup of wheat flour in a wide bowl. Add water little by little and knead into a thick, smooth dough like chapathi dough. No need to add oil or ghee while making the dough.
- Place the kneaded dough in a big bowl and pour 5 cups of water over it. Let it soak undisturbed for 2 to 4 hours.
- After 2 hours, mix the dough thoroughly in the water with your hands. The dough will dissolve into the water, yielding a rich, white wheat milk.
- Strain the wheat milk through a fine cloth strainer, squeezing the fiber residue to extract all liquid. Discard the residue. In a bowl, melt the required ghee and mix with the cooking oil; set aside.
- In a wide, heavy-bottomed or non-stick kadai, heat 1 tbsp of ghee and roast cashews until golden brown. Add the extracted wheat milk directly into the kadai and stir continuously on medium flame for about 15 minutes until it thickens like porridge. Lower the flame and add 2 to 2 1/4 cups of sugar, mixing well.
- Sugar Caramelization: In another small pan on another burner, melt 1 tbsp ghee and add 1/4 cup sugar. Stir continuously on low flame until the sugar melts and turns a rich golden brown. Be careful not to overheat it, as burnt sugar turns bitter.
- Immediately switch off the flame and carefully pour the hot caramelized sugar into the simmering halwa (it will splutter slightly). Stir well on medium flame until the color turns an even light brown.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the melted ghee and oil mixture and mix well. The halwa will absorb the fat and turn glossy. Continue adding 1 tablespoon of ghee+oil at regular intervals as it cooks. The color will darken to a rich, deep brown.
- Cook on low to medium flame until the halwa becomes completely non-sticky, leaves the sides of the kadai and rotates freely with the ladle. In the final 5 minutes, it will stop absorbing fat and start releasing ghee. Tilt the kadai slightly and collect the excess oozed ghee in a bowl (use it for regular cooking).
- Transfer the glossy halwa to a serving bowl and allow it to become warm. Serve hot or warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week; reheat gently before serving if desired.
Video
Notes
- If you want to follow the traditional method, wash and soak 1 cup of samba wheat for 5 hours. Grind in a mixie jar adding water in batches. Strain and extract the milk, then let it ferment overnight. The next day, remove the white layer formed on top and make halwa as mentioned above.
- The sugar quantity mentioned gives the perfect sweetness to the halwa. It won’t taste too sweet as we are adding more ghee. If you prefer mild sweetness, add 2 cups of sugar.
- If you are calorie conscious, you can use ghee and oil in equal quantity OR you can use ghee alone to make a super rich halwa. In halwa kadai, they do use some oil. Never use kadalai ennai (groundnut oil) as it will spoil the traditional aroma of the halwa.
- You may not need all the ghee and oil mentioned here; sometimes it takes a little less. When the halwa starts to ooze out the fat, stop adding it.
- Do not remove the halwa until the ghee visibly begins to release from the sides.
- Do not cook on high flame at the end, as the halwa may become overly chewy.
- This halwa releases ghee every time you reheat it. You can reheat in a microwave for 1 minute or steam inside an idli pot before serving.
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Try this simplified version of Tirunelveli halwa at home for this Diwali and enjoy!
I m sure goin to try this. U have explained it very well .collecting the ghee at last is the best part to people like me who worries about calories ;)
Yes Priya. Even me too like you. Iam so happy with this recipe :)
I love this recipe.will try this.
http://tipsoye.com/
Thank you !
Halwa looks perfect! Thanks for the detailed explanation Chitra – hope to give this a shot sometime soon :)
Wonderful recepie….detailed instructions….
Thank you :)
I have only made the traditional one since I am also from thirunelveli side . This looks like I can skip some steps will try for sure. Thanks dear
Oh good to know. thanks dear. Do try it :)
yummy and delicious….
hi chitra it looks just like santhi sweets halwa.my favourite.i love it.i dont know what and all i am going to try for this deepavali!!this tempts me a lot.my parents and my inlaws r also from nellai.when i was a child my summer vacation was also in nellai and kallidaikurichi.whenever my uncles comes to chennai i ll be eagerly waiting for this halwa.thanks for the recipe.
Happy to know you are from Nellai :) Do try it Harini. You will like it a lot :)
Looks mouthwatering! The fact that the color of tvl halwa is imparted by caramelized sugar is very new to me. U m sure it will taste yummy… kudos to you! :)
Thank you :)
Such a lovely recipe chitra ,Usually have seen tirunelveli halwa prepared using whole samba wheat ,but this seem to be an easy way.. i am definitely trying this recipe..
Thank you.Yes, That's the authentic version :)
Hi I made this one….I can't believe myself.,……wow….it comes sema 😍..,.. thank you for such a wonderful receipe.,.
Hi I made this one….I can't believe myself.,.it comes sema 😍.….thank you for such a wonderful receipe…….
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback , glad to know it :)
Followed the recipe to the T and it came out very well. You have explained each and every step very well. Taking our excess oil was a good tip.
Thank you so much for your feedback 😃
My halwa became very hard how to get rectified if it happens like.this
Hi, just add little more water + cooking oil, boil for sometime to loosen it. Lastly add some ghee, mix well & switch off the flame. serve warm or hot. If it hardens the next day, just take the requred amount of halwa, heat in a kadai for few minutes and serve.You can also microwave it and serve.
Tried your recipe and it turned out awesome ☺ when caramelizing the sugar, it became very dry like crystals and I panicked a bit. But heating it for some more time melted and caramelized the sugar as mentioned. Thank you so much for sharing such fool proof recipe 🙏
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. It made my day😊
Hi Chitra, if we double the atta qty to 2 ccups, do we need double the water qty also ?? or it is same 5 cups??
Hi, you can use 8 cups instead. If yoi soak in less water, quantity of milk will be less and halwa thickens soon before reaching correct consistency.
Thanks, even after 2 hrs, the ghee is not oosing out, but halwa looks to be in good shape, but i am still keeping in low flame.added even 2 cups of ghee and 1 cup of oil..not sure whats wrong
Ok. As the halwa is in good shape, switch off the flame and remove. For trouble shooting, Take a small portion of halwa,add a tsp of oil and stir in a kadai for few minutes. Check if it oozes ghee. In that case, stir the remaining halwa for some more time adding little more oil. Hope this tip works. Please update the results here.
Hi
I made this twice. It is a big hit in my home. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thank you so much for sharig your feedback Kavitha. I am so happy to know that :)
Hi Chitra tried tn halwa today.came out well.it may be more than 1/2kg quantity.at first ghee didn't oozeout after an hour.got confused.then as u suggested in the comments, took small quantity added one spoon oil and heated it.it started oozing out.so patience is the key element. Then started stirring the halwa it took 10min more to oozeout ghee.
It tasted just like halwa we get in tirunelveli.tasted yummy.everyone liked it.thank u very much for the recipe and tips for troubleshooting.As usual ur recipe ll come out well for me always 👍
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback Harini. Yes, as you said patience is the key for this halwa. Time taken for ghee to ooze out depends on the quantity of halwa, heat and usage of oil and ghee. Good to know that comments section helped you to trouble shoot. Once again thanks a lot for sharing your experience. It will be more helpful for people who visit this page😊
This is my first time making halwa… And thanks for recipe… Its so tasty…
Hello Nanthini, Thanks a lot for your feedback :) Happy to know it.
I made this Halwa 3 days back for a party. Outcome was awesome. Everyone who tasted the Halwa said it tasted so good. Thanks so much for this easy version recipe. I'll make this again soon..
I am so happy to see your feedback Lavanya :) Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback :)