Beetroot Halwa

Do you like beetroot? At home, we are big fans of various things made from the root vegetable – beetroot poriyal, raita, pulav, cutlets and the like. The smell of raw beetroot puts us off, but we are happy with most things made with it when cooked through. Beetroot Halwa is another dish made from the veggie that we are utterly thrilled to lick clean.

Beetroot Halwa might not be as well known as halwa made using carrots or milk, but is just as delicious. The beetroot lends the halwa a gorgeous colour and taste, the ghee, milk, raisins and cashewnuts going in making the dish all the more irresistible. This is a fairly simple sweet treat to make too! Move over poriyal and raita, Beetroot Halwa is here!

Beetroots are known for being rich in various nutrients, but I’m not sure how many of these are preserved when the vegetable is made into a halwa. That said, this is a thing we love indulging in occasionally – read: when we have a couple of beetroots lying around in the refrigerator and aren’t in the mood to cook the usual stuff with them. 🙂

Beetroots already have good natural sugar content and, hence, you may cut down a bit on the amount of sugar you use in this halwa. Considering the huge sweet tooth that all of us in my family possess, the 3/4 cup of sugar I’ve used here for 2 cups of beetroot is just perfect for us. Many like adding khoya (mawa) and/or condensed milk to Beetroot Halwa, but I usually skip those.

Today, I share with you all the recipe for Beetroot Halwa, the way it is made in our family. The theme for this week’s Foodie Monday Blog Hop is #UltaPulta – using an ingredient that is traditionally used in savoury dishes to make something sweet, and vice versa. When the Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds suggested the theme, I immediately realised our Beetroot Halwa would be a perfect fit. So, here we go!

I’m also sharing this recipe with Fiesta Friday #290. The co-host this week is Mollie @ Frugal Hausfrau.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1. 2 cups grated beetroot
2. 1 cup milk
3. 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons of ghee
4. 3/4 cup sugar or as per taste
5. 2 pinches of cardamom powder or as per taste
6. 10-12 cashewnuts
7. 1 tablespoon raisins

Method:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a heavy pan. Add in the grated beetroot. Cook on medium flame till the beetroot gets slightly tender, 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the milk to the pan. Cook on medium flame till the mixture gets thicker and all the liquid in the pan almost dries up. This takes 12-15 minutes. You will need to stir intermittently to ensure that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the sugar to the pan. Continue to cook on medium flame till the mixture thickens a bit more and the sugar is well integrated into the halwa. Switch off gas when the halwa is still a bit runny – it thickens upon cooling.

4. Mix the cardamom powder well into the halwa.

5. Chop up the cashewnuts roughly. Now, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee in a small pan. Add in the chopped cashewnuts and raisins, and lower the flame to medium. Let the raisins plump up and the cashewnuts brown, ensuring that the ingredients do not burn. Pour this ghee-cashew-raisins mixture atop the beetroot halwa. Mix well. The beetroot halwa is ready to serve – hot, warm, at room temperature or chilled, as per your preference.

Notes:

1. For best results, grate the beetroot medium thick. Grating it finely will cause it to, sort of, dissolve while cooking.

2. Make sure you use good-quality full-fat milk to make the Beetroot Halwa.

Did you like the recipe? Do tell me, in your comments!