Maida Halwa

Maida - 2 cups
Sugar - 3.5 - 4 cups
Ghee - 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Food color orange - 1/4 tsp.
Cashews - 20 chopped into half inch pieces

1. Dissolve 2 cups maida in 3-4 cups of water to form a lump free batter. Strain if required to remove any lumps.
2. Add the food color to a tsp. of water and dissolve well into the maida batter.
3. Roast cashews in 1 tsp. of ghee till they turn golden. Keep aside.
4. In a pan ( I used nonstick) add sugar and 1/2 cup water and start boiling while stirring continuously to form a syrup of 1 string consistency. This takes 7-10 mins on medium flame. Don't bother about exact one string consistency. A thick , lightly sticky syrup should do.
5. Pour in the maida mixture and keep stirring continuously to blend the sugar and maida without lumps. Use medium flame.
6. At one point it will form a single large orange blob and come out of the pan.At this point start adding ghee 1 tsp. at a time and continuing to stir.
7. The ghee will get absorbed readily by the blob as you add. Use the ladle (wooden spatula) to mash the blob and expose maximum surface area of the halwa to the added ghee.
8. At one point the ghee will stop getting absorbed and remain on the sides. Add in the roasted cashews, cardamom powder and stir once.
9. Remove from fire.

You can pour this onto a greased plate while it is hot and cut into slabs like barfi, or store it as is and ladle out with a spoon while serving.
Tastes better when allowed to set for longer time ( around 12 hours)

Variations to be tried:
Add a tbsp. of corn starch to the maida for a glossier texture. Maida can be reduced by 1 tbsp. in that case.
Use yellow food color instead of orange, pineapple essence instead of cardamom powder and tutti fruiti instead of cashews to get a Kerala halwa look.