Halvah varies from country to country, recipe to recipe, from Indian halwa made from carrots or fruit, cakes and puddings made from flour or cream or wheat, to combinations of seeds and nuts. The underlying theme is that these ingredients are combined with some combination of a sugar syrup and honey/or honey. That doesn't sound like much of a lowcarb dish.

However, it can be done! It is possible to make a lowcarb version much like the sesame seed confections sold packaged in supermarkets, and in large blocks in some delis.

Our recipe is rather basic, but it's the way DH like it. Lowcarb variations include adding ground coconut and/or sunflower seeds. Or making it all chocolate. Or using other flavorings. Or adding chuncks of nuts. Or all of the above.

This confection may seem very rich but it's actually quite good for you. Aside from the benefits of the polyunsaturated sesame oil, the seeds are known to contain a very potent antioxidant.

If the wheat germ is a problem for you, use ground nuts to add texture.

Recipe By     : Barbara Pollack
Serving Size  : 16   Preparation Time :0:05

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   1      cup           sesame seeds (try flax seed meal as a substitute)
  1/4     cup           tahini
   2      tablespoons   wheat germ (almond meal, perhaps?)
  1/3     cup           sugar equivalent (1/2 C if you add some cocoa)
   2      tablespoons   Wise CHOice Mousse Mix (Or just plain old Xanthan Gum
                        --available nearly everywhere for a lot less money!)
  1/2     teaspoon      almond extract (Perhaps a bit of Maple Extract?)
                        water
                        vanilla -- optional
                        cocoa powder -- optional

One way to shape it is to form rolls and then make thin slices to serve. Another way is to force it into a bowl or box or other mold (easiet if you line your mold with waxed papaer or plastic wrap to aid unmolding). Either cut it into individual pieces or serve it as you would a cheese and slice off pieces.

Optional: add cocoa to part of mix and combine for a marbled effect.