Beetroot Halwa

Beetroot Halwa is an utterly delicious Indian dessert. Made from grated beetroot and sweetened milk, this beetroot halwa has a gorgeous color. Jaggery powder is the sweetener in this recipe. Ghee toasted cashews and almonds add a lovely nutty flavor and crunch to the soft halwa. I have mildly flavored it with cardamom powder. This beetroot halwa makes for a perfect after-dinner dessert and can be served as naivedhyam on festivals and special occasions. The halwa tastes great served hot or chilled.

What is Halwa?

Basically, halwa is a popular Indian dessert made on festive occasions. It is basically any sweet pudding with dry fruits, ghee, condensed milk. Vegetables, fruits, grains, lentils may or may not be added. Suji Ka Halwa and Gajar Ka Halwa are the most common and loved halwa recipes in India. Chocolate Halwa, Pineapple Halwa, Orange Rava Kesari, Mango Halwa are the variations of the Suji Halwa. 

What goes into this Beetroot Halwa?

This beetroot halwa is very similar to the Gajar Halwa. Grated beetroot is the core ingredient of this halwa. Grated beetroot is roasted in ghee and then cooked in milk. You may use reduced unsweetened milk, khoya or milk powder to make the halwa rich and to save the time of cooking. Ghee is also used for frying the nuts. Ghee roasting lends a lovely aroma and flavor to the halwa and i would recommend its use if you are looking for authentic taste. Vegans can, however, skip both milk and ghee and cook the grated beetroot in sugar or jaggery syrup. I have used almonds and cashew nuts. You may use any other nut like pistachio or walnut. Jaggery is the sweetener in this halwa. Powdered or grated jaggery can be used and the quantity can be adjusted as per taste. I have flavored the halwa with cardamon powder which compliments very well with the jaggery.

Color Mania @Healthy Wealthy Cuisines

I am a part of a Facebook gourmet group, Healthy Wealthy Cuisines where the participating bloggers share recipes every fortnight on a pre-decided theme. This time it was my turn to propose the theme for our 82 nd week on the group and i suggested Color Mania as the theme, where participating members have to cook any dish which is naturally colorful, without adding any artificial colors. Spring is the season of colors. It is the time of the year when nature awakes from the dull, white gray shades of winter and wraps a blanket of vibrant colors. Just as wearing bright colored clothes makes you feel fresh, lively and rejuvenated, adding colors to your meals acts as mood booster. Also, Holi, the festival of colors is just around the corner, so color mania theme works best. This delicious beetroot halwa is my humble contribution to the theme. Do check out below, the creations of my fellow bloggers on this theme.

• Strawberry Crush by Swaty 
• Rose Falooda by Sasmita
• Horiatiki Salad by Archana

                                            

Health Benefits of Beetroot

Before moving ahead with the recipe, let's have a look at the health benefits of including Beetroot in our regular diet. Beetroot is a delicious and nutritious vegetable with several impressive health benefits. Beets are low in calories yet high in valuable vitamins and minerals. Beets also contain inorganic nitrates and pigments both of which have a number of health benefits. The high concentration of nitrates has blood pressure lowering effects. Beets are a good source of fiber, which is beneficial for digestive health, as well as reducing the risk of a number of chronic health benefits. It is believed that beetroot can boost exercise performance and prevent dementia.Source

                                

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 240 ml

• 2 cups peeled and grated beetroot
• 2 tablespoon ghee
• 2 tablespoon chopped almonds and cashews
• 2 cups full cream milk (around 1/2 liter), boiled
• 1/2 cup jaggery powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a nonstick or heavy bottom pan. Add chopped almonds and cashews to it and fry until golden brown. Remove the fried nuts in a bowl and keep aside for garnishing.

2. Add grated beetroot to the remaining ghee in the same pan. Stir fry the beetrrot for around 5 minutes or so before adding the boiled milk to it.

3. Cook the beetroot in milk on medium flame until all the milk is absorbed . Keep stirring intermittently to prevent beetroot catching the bottom of the pan. This may take around 15 minutes.

4. When the beetroot milk mixture becomes dry, add the jaggery powder. Cook the mixture on low to medium flame until all the jaggery melts and gets absorbed in the beetroot halwa. Lastly, add cardamom powder and put off the flame.

5. Now serve the beetroot halwa in individual bowls, garnish with the fried nuts and serve warm or chilled and enjoy with your loved ones!

Recipe Notes:

• Choose fresh beetroots which are hard and firm to touch and without any blemishes to make this halwa. 
• You may add khoya, milk powder or unsweetened condensed milk to the halwa to make it richer and to save cooking time.
• You may use any nuts of your choice in this halwa.
• The halwa stays good for 2-3 days on refrigeration in an air-tight container.
• Vegans may cook the grated beetroot in jaggery syrup to skip milk and ghee.

I hope a few of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

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For more recipes with beetroot, check out the following from this blog

• Beetroot Corn Pakora

                                    

• Beetroot Pachadi

                           

• Beetroot Oatmeal Cookies

                            

• Beetroot Chocolate Cake

                            

• Beetroot Stir Fry

                             

• Baked Beetroot Cutlet