A Circassian sweet: flour toasted in butter to a nutty gold, bound with honey or sugar syrup, then set and cut into squares.
Heliwe (Circassian Halva)
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the butter in a heavy pan over medium-low heat.
- Add the flour and stir constantly 15–20 minutes until it smells nutty and turns golden-brown: patience here makes the flavour.
- Meanwhile boil the sugar, water, honey and salt into a light syrup.
- Off the heat, pour the hot syrup into the toasted flour (it will hiss and thicken); stir hard until smooth.
- Return to low heat and stir a minute more until it pulls together and leaves the pan.
- Press into a buttered dish about 4 cm thick, cool, and cut into squares or diamonds.
Keep the heat low and never stop stirring: burnt flour is bitter and cannot be saved.
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
Kitchen words in Circassian
The words for what is in this dish, in Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), with audio from the Circassian app’s lessons and audio course.
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| butter | тхъуцынэtkhwutsyne | тхъуtkhu |
| honey | фоfo | шъоуshow |
| water | псыpsy | псыpsə |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchəghu |
| food | шхынshkhyn | шхыныshkhənə |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу'eshIu |
| This is delicious! | Мыр IэфIщ!Myr 'ef'shch! | Мыр IэшIу!Myr 'esh'u! |
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Heliwe: questions
How long does it take to make Heliwe?
About 30 minutes, according to the recipe in the Circassian app.
How many people does this Heliwe recipe serve?
It serves 8. The servings control above the ingredients recalculates every quantity for 1 to 40 people.
What is Heliwe made of?
The ingredients are: 2 cups wheat flour (or fine semolina); 1 cup butter; 1 cup sugar; 1 cup water; 2 tbsp honey (optional); pinch of salt.
Is Heliwe an everyday or a festive dish?
The Circassian app files it as a festive dish (Sweets & Drinks).
Where does this Heliwe recipe come from?
From the Recipes section of the Circassian app. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section, recipe “Heliwe (Circassian Halva)” (recipe data last changed July 2026). The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Circassian app: audio course, Kabardian and Adyghe (the kitchen words: cheese, meat, milk, bread, tea, water, food, delicious), and the lessons’ vocabulary (chicken, salt, butter, honey).
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