Recipe
Flour is dry-roasted in a pan or oven until it reaches a deep golden-brown color and then allowed to cool (it may alternatively be roasted with butter). The flour is subsequently sifted to eliminate any lumps. Slightly diluted molasses or sweetened water is added and mixed thoroughly. Portions of the resulting mixture are shaped by hand into balls or pressed into a tray, leveled, and cut into diamond-shaped pieces. Known locally as pekmez helvası, öküz helvası is a traditional sweet prepared by combining roasted flour with molasses or sugar. Due to its high nutritional value and ease of transport, this sweet was frequently carried by shepherds tending oxen, which gave rise to its name, öküz helvası.