Kasi Halwa Recipe | White Pumpkin Halwa | Ashgourd Halwa

Kasi Halwa is nothing but halwa made up of White Pumpkin(Ash gourd), I wonder how it got that name but neverthless this halwa tastes just amazing. Kasi halwa is a very popular sweet which is served with breakfast during any occasion or functions in Karnataka. The preparation process of this halwa is similar to any other halwa,but there are few variations in the preparation process of this halwa.One can prepare this halwa with out the addition of milk or khoya and it tastes yet delicious.The addition of koa(mawa) to the kasi halwa is optional but I prefer to add it as it gives a nice taste and texture to the halwa.

Check out few other desserts recipes using fruits and vegetables here:

• Carrot-Beetroot Halwa using Condensed milk
• Carrot Kheer
• Carrot Phirni
• Lauki(Bottlegourd) Halwa
• Mango Fudge | Mango Burfi
• Mango Phirni | Layered Mango Phirni
• Mango Sheera | Mango Sooji Halwa 

Kasi Halwa | Boodida Gummadikaya Halwa Recipe:

Serves 4

Prep time:15 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 45 mins

Cuisine: South Indian | Category: Sweets/Desserts

Ingredients:

2 cups grated White Pumpkin/Ashgourd

1 cup Sugar

1/4 cup crumbled Khoya/Mawa

1/2 tsp Green Cardamom powder

10-12 Saffron strands

2 tbsp chopped Cashews

2 tbsp Raisins

2-3 tbsp Ghee

Method:

• Heat 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the chopped cashewnuts and raisins separately and keep them aside.
• Cut the white pumpkin into big pieces and remove seeds from it.Grate the pumpkin and pressure cook till one whistle without adding water to it.You can even add the grated ashgourd mixture to a thick bottomed pan and saute it until the raw smell goes away,its bit consuming as the vegetable leaves lot of water and saute until the water dried up and the ashgourd becomes soft.
• If you have pressure cooked the ashgourd,let it cool and then squeeze out water from that and keep aside.(If you are directly cooking it on tawa you do not need to squeeze any water from it)
• Add sugar to the ashgourd mixture and cook on high flame until the sugar melts.Reduce the flame add saffron strands and mix well.Cook it further until the mixture turns slightly mushy and cooked well. 
• Add crumbled khoya to it when the halwa is 3/4th cooked
• Once the mixture becomes kind of glossy and transparent mass add 2 tbsp of ghee and cardamom powder and cook until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
• Add fried cashewnuts and raisins to the halwa and mix nicely.

Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

1. The addition of khoya is optional,but it adds nice taste and texture to the halwa.
2. The pressure cooker version is faster but you need to wait to squeeze the water until it cools down.So choose either of the ways according to your convenience.
3. You can even add whole cream milk to the halwa.You can add at the stage of - after the water evaporates from the ashgourd mixture while sauteeing you can add milk and cook further until it is completely absorbed by the mixture and becomes dry.
4. You can add kesar food color too if you wish.But the saffron strands itself will give nice yellowish color to the halwa.

Check out various Diwali Sweets Recipes here.

If you are looking for more Savoury Recipes,Check out Diwali Savoury Recipes here.

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