Poppy seeds or Khus Khus (also called gasagasalu in Telugu) are known for their somnolent or sleep inducing properties. So, last week when my father was unwell and not sleeping to well, I made this Khus Khus Halwa for him. As a bonus, since he likes sweets, it also made him happy to eat it. 🙂
Khus Khus Halwa | Gasagasala Halwa | Poppy Seeds Halwa
Called Khus Khus Jo Seero in Sindh, Post ka Halwa in Himachal Pradesh, and Gasagasala Hawla in Telugu, this dessert is very easy to make and is quite popular across India. It is essentially a solid version of the Gasagasala Payasam |Khus Khus Kheer I have written about earlier.
Khus Khus or Poppy Seeds are much maligned (banned in some countries) because they are the base from which opium and morphine are produced. If we can look past this fact, we will realise that Poppy Seeds are are highly nutritious with high concentrations of iron, calcium, phosphorous, and zinc.
A moderate consumption of Khus Khus is actually quite beneficial for health. One way to use khus khus is to soak and grind it to a fine paste, and then add this creamy paste to gravies or in place of/in addition to ground onion, etc.
Coming back to Khus Khus Halwa, the focus should be on soaking the poppy seeds well because otherwise the halwa will have a rather unpalatable grainy texture because poppy seeds are notoriously difficult to grind. The rest of the recipe is rather easy. 🙂
Khus Khus Halwa | Post ka Halwa | Gasagasala Halwa
How to Make Khus Khus Halwa | Gasagasala Halwa | Post ka Halwa | Poppy Seeds Halwa
Khus Khus Halwa | Gasagasala Halwa | Post ka Halwa | Poppy Seeds Halwa
Ingredients
- 100 gms Khus Khus, Gasagasalu, Poppy Seeds
- 100 gms Sugar
- 225 ml Milk
- 3 tbsp Ghee
- 1 tsp Cardamom Powder
- 2-3 tbsp Sliced Almonds
Instructions
- In about 2 cups of water, soak the khus khus overnight (or for at least 8 hours).
- Drain all the water from the khus khus.
- Grind the soaked khus khus to a fine paste. Use a little water or milk if needed.
- In a large heavy bottomed kadai or pan, over medium heat, heat 2 tbsp ghee.
- Add the poppy seeds paste and saute till it becomes aromatic and just starts to change colour.
- Turn the heat to low, add the sugar and cardamom powder, and mix well.
- Gradually add the milk and mix well.
- Mix well to ensure there are no lumps.
- Over medium heat, let the Khus Khus Halwa cook till the milk is fully absorbed and the poppy seed paste is well cooked. Stir at regular intervals.
- Turn the heat off and transfer the Khus Khus Halwa into a serving bowl.
- Drizzle the remaining ghee and garnish with the almond slivers.
- Enjoy hot!
Recipe with Step-by-Step Instructions to Make Khus Khus Halwa | Gasagasala Halwa | Post ka Halwa | Poppy Seeds Halwa
- Soaking the Poppy Seeds: The Most Important Step
- Cover the poppy seeds with enough water and soak them overnight (or for at least 8 hours). If you do not soak the poppy seeds enough, they will be difficult to grind and/or cook.
- Drain all the water from the poppy seeds. I used a soup strainer.
- Using a little milk, grind the soaked poppy seeds to a fine paste.
- Cover the poppy seeds with enough water and soak them overnight (or for at least 8 hours). If you do not soak the poppy seeds enough, they will be difficult to grind and/or cook.
- Making the Khus Khus Halwa | Gasagasala Halwa | Post ka Halwa
- Choose a a heavy bottomed kadai large enough to mix the halwa comfortably.
- Over a medium flame, heat the kadhai and melt 2 tbsp ghee.
- To the melted ghee, add the poppy seeds paste.
- Stir-fry the poppy seed paste till it starts to change colour and becomes aromatic.
- Reduce the heat to low, and add the sugar and cardamom powder to the fried poppy paste.
- Mix well and stir-fry for about a minute.
- When the sugar is well-incorporated, add the milk.
- Immediately mix well to ensure that the poppy seed mix blends well with the milk with no lumps.
- Over medium heat, cook the mix till the milk is fully absorbed and the poppy seed paste is well cooked. Keep stirring at regular intervals to ensure that the halwa does not stick to the kadhai.
- When the Khus Khus Halwa is cooked, remove it from the heat off and transfer the into a serving bowl.
- Melt and drizzle the remaining ghee on the Halwa.
- Garnish with the almond slivers.
- Serve hot!
Gasagasala Halwa | Poppy Seeds Halwa | Post ka Halwa
khuskhuse is great way to deal with body aches. It also increases lactation.
This sounds interesting. Had heard of kheer but not halwa. Got to try it and you are since it has morphine properties I can’t carry from India to stock it up. What I get here is too expensive ?????
can I use non dairy milk
Yes, you can. I have used coconut milk with excellent results.
many thanks
Anything sweet i am always in. I should try this sometime looks yummy
It sounds so interesting, i’ll add khus khus in my non veg curries but never used in sweets, lovely idea..yumm !!
Wow..Khus khus halwa sounds tempting..Surely will give it a try 🙂
I have heard about this halwa but never tried it. Looks good.
Tried this halwa long back for an occasion and enjoyed it thoroughly, now you are tempting me again to make some soon. Droolworthy halwa.
We bongs are very fond of Khus -Khus aka Posto as we know it, we relish it in many savoury dishes but this halwa is new for me, lovely recipe will try soon.
We don’t get poppy seeds here in UAE, banned for the same reasons as mentioned. The halwa looks tempting…
Such a delightful and beneficial treat for anyone!
Aruna, an interesting halwa. Never heard about this poppy seed halwa, but it looks so delicious. Will try it out as I love poppy seeds.
This is totally new to me..halwa with only khus khus… looks awesome
This the very first time I am hearing about a payasam made with khus khus. Its so unique and I am definitely going to try this because I love khus khus
To be honest, I have never worked much with Khus Khus. A ladoo once and some gravy that I made, post that nothing. This recipe is lovely and glad to know that it can be used for full fledged dessert and not just for thickening gravies and rolling the ladoos over! Great share.
Khus khus has such a rich flavour. I have had almond and khus khus laddoo post delivery. They are very nutritious
This is a new one to me. But with your step by step pics I think I might give it a try. Lovely share?
Sounds interesting and healthy too.. Till now I haven’t tried halwa using khus khus but looks inviting ! Will try sometime !
oh never seen a recipe with khus khus as a main ingredient.. very interesting and tempting halwa..
That’s a new idea for me! I’ve always used khus khus ground with roasted chickpeas to thicken up Masala. And once in some middle eastern cookies. The halwa looks amazing. I’ve bookmarked it for Eid.
I hope you try it soon. It is delicious. 🙂
I never use khus khus in that much amount as we were always being told of it’s warm effects. But I guess I should try this halwa as it looks so delicious.
Yes, we should eat it in small quantities.
This is in my to do list.. Have tried kheer and waiting to try halwa.. Looks delicious..
This looks rich and delicious! When we visit Indian my mom will make this. But I never tried, because here it’s very expensive and rare too:)
I hope your visit is soon!
Oh wow!! this looks delicious.
This looks delicious, I make gasgase payasa, but never knew about this one.
Honestly i have prepared this halwa some days before during navratra. The taste was so so delish. My post will be soon on blog
It is delicious, isn’t it?
The only way I have consumed poppy seeds is gravys and masala. Had some kheer ages ago but at home since one eats sweets I have never made anything with it. But your pics are tempting me to try my hand at it.
I hope you do try it!
So delicious halwa. Tasted long back , definately would love to make again.. lovely recipe.
I miss poppy seeds here. Your post made me nostalgic Aruna. Will try this halwa in my next visit to india.