Pumpkin Or Squash Halva
Kaddu ka Halwa
Mamta Gupta
I had this halwa on a recent trip (November 2004) to India, at the well known Morya Sheraton Hotel in Delhi. It tasted so delicious that I thought I will try making it at home. I made it in the same way as I make 'Shakarkandi' or Sweet Potato Halwa, with a few minor changes. It came out quite delicious. It can be made in advance and heated in a microwave just before serving. It freezes well. Serves 6-7.
Edited November 2022
Ingredients
1 kg. pumpkin (800 gm. peeled and deseeded). You can use butternut or other squash instead.
3-4 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. desiccated coconut
2-3 tbsp. milk powder. You can use grated Mawa or khoa instead. I often use Coffee-Mate
100-150 gm. jaggery or muscovado sugar (unrefined cane sugar). Adjust amount according to sweetness of pumpkin
8 almonds (can be blanched if you like)
12 pistachio (can be blanched if you like)
1 tsp. green cardamom powder (optional)
Instructions
Place pumpkin on a chopping board and cut into slices, like a melon. Use a sharp knife.
Remove seeds and fibre and discard.
Soak almonds and pistachio in hot water. Or, you can put them in a small bowl and heat in a microwave on full power for 2 minutes. Cool. Peel the thick skin off. Shred thinly. These days, I do this with a garlic slicer, especially kept aside for slicing nuts. Thinly shredded nuts look better than chopped ones. Keep aside.
Heat ghee in a heavy based pan or karahi/kadahi.
Add pumpkin and stir fry for a minute.
Add 1/2 cup milk and allow to simmer until flesh is soft. 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place desiccated coconut on a plate and microwave on full power for 2+1 minutes, stirring in between.If you do not have a microwave, you can dry fry the coconut in a clean pan, on low heat, until there is a nice aroma of coconut. Keep aside.
Returning to the cooked, soft pumpkin, turn the heat down. Mash it well, using a potato masher or back of a spoon.
Add sugar (Brown sugar or Jaggery are nice), powdered milk or grated mawa/khoa, coconut and cardamom powder to the mashed pumpkin.
Continue to stir fry on medium heat, until liquid dries up, ghee separates and pumpkin looks shiny. It has mashed potato like consistency.
Add most of the almonds and pistachios, saving a little for garnish. Stir them in.
Transfer to serving dish or individual little bowls and decorate with saved almond and pistachio nuts.
Serve Hot.
Notes
You can cook pumpkin in a microwave; place in a sandwich bag, add 2 tbs. water and cook on high for 6 minutes. Do not add milk if cooking in microwave.
