Saturday, September 1, 2012

Kashi Halva / Ash Gourd Halva

This is one sweet dish, that i am very fond of. Its also served at various traditional functions like Weddings / House Warming. When i was a kid, i used to attend some of the functions, hoping to eat this deliciously sweet halva.

Just found that Halva is a word of Arabic origin, meaning "Sweet"

This is a simple recipe, except the fact that, it does need constant attention.

Ingredients : 

Ash Gourd ( Buda Gumbalakai in Kannada) : 1/2 kg, Skin peeled and Grated.
Sugar : 1 medium cup
Milk : Half a cup
Saffron Strands : 6-10 ( Soaked in warm milk)
Plain Khova : 150 gms
Cardamom Powder : 1/4th tsp
Cashews & Raisins : 10-15, roasted in a bit of Ghee
Ghee : 1/4th Cup


Steps: 
1 . Remove the excess water from the grated ash gourd , and cook in a cooker for 3 whistles.
2 . Take another heavy bottomed pan, heat the 1/4th cup of ghee.
3. Add the boiled Ashgourd and saute for a  few minutes.
4. As a vegetable, ash gourd tends to leave water, dont worry if at this stage you do find traces of water.
5. Add the sugar, and keep stirring, ensuring it does not stick to the pan.
6. After 10 mins, once some of the water content evaporates, add the milk and Khova.
7. Mix well, and keep mixing all the while. Keep this on the minimum flame always.
8. You need to keep mixing, till this forms one lump, and starts leaving the sides pf the vessel.
9. Now add the Saffron,  Cardamom powder and Roasted Cashews & Raisins.
10.Its ready to eat.

Note: i have used only1/4 cup of ghee as i also had used Khova. If you are not using khova, triple the quantity of ghee. Also, before adding khova, i had slightly heated it on a tawa.