Sohan Halwa

Sohan Halwa is among five gifts for which Multan is known for. A famous Persian quote includes dust, heat, beggars and graveyards as the four other gifts of Multan.

Sohan Halwa is to winter what mangoes are to summer, except it is not limited just to the winters. This famous mithai which has come to be the defining symbol of Multan is distributed all over any time of the year in the whole of sub-continent. 

After partition of the country, there are many Halwai shops in Gurgaon and many other towns of Haryana where the migrants from Multan are settled. They are thriving with Sohan Halwa business commercially.

Recipie of Sohan Halwa for a typical 4Kg milk quantity is given below:

We have to prepare "Summakk or Anguri" by making wheat sprout a bit for a couple of days afterwords it is then dried and powdered. For an example, a 250 grams of Summakk powder and 250 grams of regular wheat powder is immersed in 4 Kg of whole milk for about 2-3 hours. This mixture is then put on the slow fire otherwise lumps would be formed and allowed to get thicker with consistent stirring so that splittered milk does not stick to the bottom of the vessel being used for its preparation.

When half the milk gets evaporated through consistent boiling and stirring of the milk, one Kg of sugar is added. With the addition of sugar, the milk gets again diluted while continuously being roasted forming darker in color. Now is the testing time, with more and more cooking, the boiling stuff flies in hot splinters around all directions and it becomes harder to keep it stirring.

Last act is to add pure ghee and roast it further and finally sprinkle dry fruits like Almonds, cashews, walnuts, Cardamom seeds and pistachios as per your choice. The entire build up Halwa is then poured out on pure ghee coated plate and kept there for a few hours to get cooled and set in. Unlike other Halwas of the sub-continent, Sohan Halwa is solid.

Very fond of Sohan Halwa, I would usually help my mom in cooking but would certainly run away when boiling stuff started flying on my arms and hands. 

Cooled stuff is cut into small pieces like the one in the picture below and present to any body you want.

It was a very big task for my Mom to hide the Sohan Halwa from me as I would stealthily grab a big share even if I had to get reprimanded in return.

The love with which it is prepared, packed, and presented to friends and family embodies the traditional hospitality of the people from Multan. When winters are just round the corner, it is time to cook the Halwa and share at supper time.

Legend has it that Sohan Halwah was prepared for the first time by a confectioner named 'Sohan'. The story is that this one time Sohan purchased some milk for his sweets, but the milk went stale. Instead of draining the stale milk, Sohan chose to experiment with it. 

He placed the milk on flame, and as the milk started getting thicker, Sohan added in some wheat flour to make it even more dense. Before long, he had on his hands a new, unique and delightfully sweet dish. 

Sohan went on to distribute it among wayfarers and locals. Soon, the demand shot up and everyone thronged to Sohan's place for the new delicacy. 

Sohan also presented the halwa in the court of ruler Deewan Sawan Mal, where his innovation was duly appreciated, lending even more popularity to him and his product.

Another popular narrative holds that Deewan Sawan Mal, appointed as Governor of Multan in 1821 by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, was the inventor of the Sohan Halwa. 

I wish I could go back to Multan someday just to have the taste of original Sohan Halwa even at the cost of my health. 

Sohan Halwa is Sohan Halwa after all!