Name: Sesame Tahini Halva (Halvardeh)
Prep time: 2 h 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 40 min
Yield: Makes 1 loaf pan
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: ¼ teaspoon salt; 1½ cups/360 g tahini sesame paste; 1 teaspoon ground cardamom; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 tablespoons rose water; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1 cup/120 g raw slivered pistachios, almonds, or chopped walnuts, or a combination of all three; 1½ cups/300 g granulated sugar

Preparation info

Makes
1
loaf pan

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
3 hr

Appears in

Cooking in Iran

By Najmieh Batmanglij

Published 2020

About

I was fascinated by how popular sesame products are throughout Iran, but I shouldn't have been surprised because I knew that sesame had been cultivated in Iran for several thousand years. In southern Iran, the sesame halva/halvardeh or pashmak-e ardeh versions are the most popular. I visited workshops in Shiraz, Evaz and Lar, where they still make it in the artisanal manner, often adding egg white and soapwort (Saponaria officinalis or chubak in Persian), made fr