Kaddu Ka Halwa/Pumpkin Halwa

My last post promised that I would offer a slightly different halwa to the one that usually is eaten at Ashtami. We usually serve the traditional sooji/semolina halwa with the kala chana (brown chickpeas).

So here it is as promised. Kaddu/pumpkin halwa.

The mention of which did elicit a look of horror on my sisters face. “Huh? Why?” she asked. “Why not stick to making something traditional? And I’ve never heard of pumpkin halwa“, she said in her huffiest tone! “Well”, said I, “its autumn you know and I want to do something slightly different AND you may not know it but pumpkin halwa is a thing already!”

Nope she was not to be convinced of such a thing. “Kaddu? Halwa? Yuck! Lets see how it turns out!” Smirk and snicker. Not to be deterred by this utter lack of confidence… hehe nope not me. What’s that about if you laugh at me I’m gonna prove you wrong!!

And for gods sake pumpkin halwa is a thing!

In her defense though, pumpkin is like the most hated of all dishes with Indian kids. I should know since I was one!

Kaddu Ka Halwa/Pumpkin Halwa

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Author: boxofspice

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 tsps cardamom powder
• ½ cup desiccated coconut + ½ cup for decorating
• 800 grams pumpkin, grated
• ¼ cup almonds, roughly chopped + ½ cup for decorating
• ¼ cup pistachios, roughly chopped + ½ cup for decorating
• 6-8 cashewnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup ghee
• 1 - 1½ condensed milk, according to how sweet you'd like it
• ½ cup raisins for decorating

Instructions

1. Heat ghee in a deep non-stick pan (I used a dutch oven), add the cashew nuts, pistachio and almonds. When light brown, add the grated pumpkin and saute for 15-20 minutes or till the rawness of the pumpkin goes.
2. Add the milk and cook till the pumpkin is tender and breaks down. Cook till almost dry. Add the desiccated coconut and stir well.
3. Cook this mixture for another 20 minutes, stirring often. You don't want the bottom to burn.
4. Add the condensed milk and stir continuously till the mixture is thick. Sprinkle the cardamom powder, mix well and remove from fire.
5. Fill a bowl till a quarter. Add a layer of raisins, then a layer of pistachios and top with a layer of coconut flakes. Serve hot or cold with chai or just with the kala chanas.

Notes

Halwa is very heavy so you don't need to serve a lot of it. And especially since mine has layers of dried fruit, less is more!

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