KASI HALWA by Vidhya

KASI HALWA by Vidhya

Ingredients
2 cup white pumpkin (winter melon) (grated)
4 green cardamoms
1 cup pure ghee
10-12 cashewnuts
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk-reduced fat
saffron-few strands or red color
a pinch camphor (edible/optionl)


Preparation

1. Peel, deseed and cut the pumpkin into very small cubes.Alternatively grating it would make it cook faster.
2. Grind the cardamom with the 1 tablespoon sugar to a fine powder, sieve and keep aside. 3.Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and fry cashewnuts to golden brown and keep aside.
4. Boil the remaining sugar with ¾th cup water and make syrup of one-thread consistency.
5. Heat 4 tablespoons of ghee and saute the pumpkin for a few minutes, add the saffron/red color and the milk.
6. Simmer over low heat till the pumpkin is fully cooked and the milk is absorbed totally. Stir and mash the pumpkin lightly with a wooden spatula while cooking.
7.Add the syrup slowly to the pulp and continue stirring and cooking. Add the ghee little by little till it is completely absorbed and comes to thick halwa consitency.
8. Sprinkle the cardamom powder and the camphor. Add the fried cashewnuts and continue cooking till the halwa starts leaving the sides of the vessel.


Steps 6 n 7 are the time consuming ones here but make sure you follow them.