KOZHIKODE, 17 February 2007 — Who says halwa is all about flour, sugar, butter and nuts? Malabar’s very own halwa has become non-vegetarian thanks to the new generation of halwa-makers who are trying everything in halwa. Chicken halwa was a rage in the Halwa Bazar at the Malabar Shopping Festival last month in this historic city known as Kerala’s halwa capital.
Though priced at Rs. 100 a kg — almost double what an ordinary brand costs — people throng the halwa stalls to taste the “innovation.” It is prepared by mixing halwa mixture with dried chicken powder. The makers say they need six kilos of chicken to make two kilos of halwa and also that the current price is only an “introductory offer.” The chicken halwa has a shelf life of two weeks. Sweetmeat shop owners say they are unable to cater to the needs of their increasing customers. They are also flooded with inquires from the Gulf, home to some two million Keralite workers.
“We sold 100 to 120 kilos daily at the halwa festival,” claimed Muhammad Shafi, an employee of a leading stall. “After preparing the mix, it has to be kept fermenting for three days. It requires a lot of patience to make the chicken halwa,” he added.
The watery mix is put on high heat (140 degree C) and stirred till it dries. Chicken powder is added in the final stages to prolong its shelf life. Earlier, everything was done manually, but now most of the stalls use imported machines for mixing and stirring. The city, which has a strong mercantile streak to it (Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed here in 1498), has a Mittai Theru (Sweetmeat Street) in honor of its traditional halwa-makers. Just on a casual walk through the crowded street, the sweet aromas hanging in the air will tickle your noses and excite your palates.
“Halwa was a major attraction in the Malabar Shopping Festival,” Mayor M. Bhaskaran said. He always keeps a few pieces to offer to his VIP visitors.
There were eight stalls at the festival with nearly 30 different varieties of halwa from ‘Addihalwa’, which costs Rs. 40 per kilo, to ‘gee halwa’ which is Rs. 220 per kilo. Wheat halwa, rose milk halwa and halwa prepared from powder of arrowroot were in great demand among visitors to the festival.
