Kasi Halwa Recipe | Poosanikai Halwa | Ash Gourd Halwa(White Pumpkin) | Easy Diwali Sweets

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Kasi Halwa Recipe | Poosanikai Halwa | Ash Gourd Halwa(White Pumpkin) | Easy Diwali Sweets

I hate most of the veggies in my childhood. Later on, I started eating some common vegetables and I am unaware of many. So after Happy's birth, Jany and I decided that we should introduce her to almost all the vegetables before she grows up. So every weekend we hunt for different veggies in Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam. Once I bought this white pumpkin and I don't know what to do with that. Finally, I ended up in googling for "White Pumpkin recipes" and I came across this wonderful dessert. Without any hesitation, I give it a try and it came out really well. Check out my entire Diwali Collection of recipes. Do check out my Corn Flour Halwa, Badam Halwa, Khajoor Ka Halwa too. Here comes the recipe:
Final Pictures updated on 19th October 2016

Ingredients:

White Pumpkin (grated) - 2 cups
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 2 or 3 tbsp

Food Color - a pinch ( I used orange color)

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cashews - few

Method:

1. Peel the skin of the pumpkin and remove its seeds. (Peel off the green portion completely). Then grate the fleshy portion.

2. Roast the cashews in ghee and keep it aside. In the remaining ghee, saute the grated pumpkin for minimum 5 minutes. (Before sauteing, squeeze the water from the grated pumpkin and reserve it for later use)

3. The pumpkin will leave a sufficient amount of water , so it is not required to add water for the vegetable to get cooked. Just add the squeezed water while cooking. Cover and cook till the pumpkin is mushy.

4. Once the vegetable is cooked completely, add the sugar. Keep in mind that the pumpkin will not be cooked after adding sugar. Now add the food color and the cardamom powder. Give a gentle mix and add the remaining ghee. Stir it continuously till it leaves the sides of the pan and looks transparent. Switch off the flame and mix the roasted cashews.

Enjoy eating delicious pumpkin Halwa. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Points to remember:

If you have really sweet tooth then increase the sugar quantity by 1/4 cup. The mentioned quantity is exactly correct for us.
You can add extra ghee if you prefer it.
It stays good in the fridge for more than a week.
If preferred, you can spread it in a ghee greased plate and slice it into squares or diamonds.
You can also add milk with this Halwa, mix it while adding sugar. Shelf life will be less.