Halwa is a rich and delicious Indian dessert made during festivals and happy occasions. Beetroot gives it a new flavor and is a great alternative to carrot halwa.
We all love halwa! Right! This is the most made dessert in India. It is so famous that nearly every Bollywood movie features this halwa as a hero’s favorite treat made by his mother. It’s an open joke that if you can make a decent halwa then you can keep your spouse happy. It truly is one of the esteemed desserts of India with lot of history. Carrot Halwa an ancient traditional recipe that is popular across all age groups.
While I have eaten carrot halwa all my life, I can even boast a bit that I make very good carrot halwa as I have mastered the recipe over all these years. It was just about time I created a new version to it. I decided to substitute carrots with beets as I thought it will really work well in this recipe. I was also excited about the color of the dish! Carrot halwa is orange in color while beets give this dessert a nice deep red color. Plus beets have a distinct sweet flavor which works for this dish.
The recipe is very similar to making carrot halwa. While I have showed the microwave version of making carrot halwa before, this is the cooktop version. Boil milk
in a pan
, once it begins to boil, add grated beets to it. Keep stirring on medium flame so that no lumps are formed. Keep cooking it till the beets absorb the milk. Then add sugar
.
Stir in the sugar and add grated khoya to the mix. Continue to cook it till the mixture begins to come together. Add ghee
, chopped nuts like cashew
, almonds
and pistachios
. The halwa will not stick to the pan and that is when you know its done.
You can serve this beetroot halwa either warm or cold. It tastes great either way. For some more flavor, serve it with ice cream or make a trifle. This halwa is creamy, sweet and addictive. Make this for Raksha Bandha, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri or Janashtami. This dessert is apt for any festival, happy occasion or if you are just in mood for a sweet treat.
- 1 large beetroot
- 4-5 cups whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup khoya
- 2 tbsp mixed nuts
- 1-2 tbsp ghee
- Boil milk in a pan, once it begins to boil, add grated beets to it. Keep stirring on medium flame so that no lumps are formed. Keep cooking it till the beets absorb the milk. Then add sugar.
- Stir in the sugar and add grated khoya to the mix. Continue to cook it till the mixture begins to come together. Add ghee, chopped nuts like cashew, almonds and pistachios. The halwa will not stick to the pan and that is when you know its done.
- Use the same recipe to make carrot halwa, substitute beets to carrots.
- You can make this vegan by cooking it in any nut milk.
Some other Indian dessert recipes that you are bound to love are Sweet Potato Nei Paniyaram With Leftover Puran, Pineapple Sweet Pongal, Cherry flavored Sweet Pongal, Sweet Potato Puran Poli/Pancakes, Rabri Ice Cream with Beetroot & Raspberry Sauce, Quaker® Simply Granola Oats, Honey & Almonds & Rice Pudding/Kheer and Chocolate Rava Laddu
Oh man, this looks so good. I can imagine how delicious the maple curry sauce is!
Wow! Learn something new every day. I love beets……this is such an interesting idea.
I didnt know it was a dessert type! I must try one day. Love indian food?