Beetroot Halwa

The summer this year was glorious,we are back into action after almost 2 months of summer holidays.Living in a hilly area, we get to experience both the extremes,real hot summers and very cold winters.The plants in my balcony love the hot summers and they are a sight to see with their beautiful colours.Here are some of them ...

But the sunflowers really stole the show.I could sit back and watch them preening in their beauty the whole day.There was this poem that I learnt as a kid in school,I remember the opening lines of it..

'Love came to Flora asking for a flower 

That would of flowers be undisputed queen'

The poem is about how the Lily and the Rose think that they are the Queen of flowers,but Flora decides that the Lotus is the Queen of flowers.Though I would rather called Sunflower the queen of Flowers :)

I'm not much of a flower person,but to have a little garden patch with my own vegetables and flowers is definitely on my bucket list !!
So here's a recipe for an equally colourful and beautiful dish.It's very much similar to it's counterpart Carrot Halwa !

You'll Need:

Beetroots (cleaned,scraped and grated) - 4 cups

Boiled Whole Milk - 3 cups

Raisins - 3 tbsp

Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp

Almond slivered - 2 tbsp

Chenna/Paneer/ricotta/Fresh Cheese(crumbled or pulsed in mixer) - 1 cup

Ghee - 4-5 tbsp

Sugar - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

 Method:

-In a a wide mouthed non-stick or thick bottomed pan add the ghee,when it heats up add the raisins, cashew nuts and Almonds.Saute until the nuts are slightly browned and the raisins puff up.

-Add the grated Beetroot and saute for 5 - 6 minutes until it's all coated with ghee.

-Add the Milk and mix well.Reduce the flame to medium and let it cook until all the milk evaporates.Keep stirring in between else it tends to stick to the bottom of the vessel.

-Now add the sugar & mix it well.Let it cook until the mixture gets dry.Keep stirring it often.

-Once the mixture appears dry keep stirring it until it turns bright and shiny. This can take around 10 -12 minutes.The mixture will start leaving the sides of the vessel and will clump into a ball.

-Now add the Chenna/Paneer/Cheese and sprinkle the cardamom powder.Stir until the Cheese is well mixed around 5 minutes.Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Have a colourful day !