middle eastern pastry made with sesame seeds and sugar.

Varieties :

- Haloua chamia (Syrian pastry)
- Haloua homsia (with chick peas)
- Halwa jiljlane (with sesame seeds)
- Halwa bidha (with almonds).

Like Baklaoua which originated in the Ottoman Empire, Halwa rapidly spread throughout North Africa, Greece, and the Balkans all the way to Russia and Poland.

In Kairouan, if the throat lozenge known as “rahat halkoum” (“rest for the throat”), made from cornstarch and honey and rolled in confectioner’s sugar continues to resist modernization, and is still made the same way as in ancient times by traditional pastry chefs.

In contrast, “halway maasoura” has literally disappeared today. This type of confection was suspended from a cross which the merchant completely ignored, being careful to cut the exact same size for everyone while singing “Ya rab wa aalik el jabr, Halli senounek wa dhawi ayounek,” because most itinerant tradesmen had their own personal tunes they used to alert their customers to their presence in the neighborhood. Today that is known as having a marketing trategy.

“Dabbous el ghoul” from “Baiek El Agrebi” an apple wrapped in Halwa with a small stem in wood (very similar to the concept of our own candied apples) should not be forgotten either.

Mohamed Rebai
info@kairouan.org

Halwa chamia
Halwa homsia
Halwa jiljlane
Halwa bidha