Coimbatore - Srinagar - Barshi (Contd..) - Third Stop - Gaargi - Pumpkin Donut - Poosanikai kachayam

Folks from DH's running group also post recipes that can be cooked when they reach their virtual destination. This recipe was posted by one of the runners and it has also become a hit in our house. With an abundance of pumpkins any recipe that utilizes pumpkins is welcome. The only thing that stops us from cooking this more often is that it requires deep frying, partially to avoid overeating deep fried foods and also the logistics of having to deal with the cleanup afterwards.

If you read books and articles on nutrition and health, there is always conflicting information, health benefit claims, importance of micronutrients and many dos and donts. The problem with all of this information is it is hard to follow and more importantly very confusing to most of us.

While we definitely have to control the sugar we consume especially people with sugar addiction like mine but eating varied kinds of food and in moderation is the key to leading a healthy life. Also these recipes were cooked because of the motivation provided by the running group. So being active means all of these different foods can be enjoyed without guilt.

I think in the traditional recipe you take a small amount of dough, flatten it in the palm of your hand with a hole in the center. But if the texture is a bit loose dropping hand full of dough and cooking it in oil also works.
The recipe in pictures,

Peel and chop the pumpkin and set it steam in a pressure cooker.
Mash the pumpkin so there are no lumps.
Add flour, jaggery, cardamom powder and poppy seeds and make the batter. Drop into hot oil for deep frying.
Remove from oil when it turns golden brown.

A very simply recipe with delicious results.

Gargi - Pumpkin Kachayam
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1/2 medium sized pumpkin (about 4 cups of steamed)
2. 2 cups of wheat flour
3. 1/3 - 1/2 cup of jaggery
4. 1 tsp cardamom powder
5. 1 tsp poppy seeds
6. Oil for deep frying

Method

Peel and cut the pumpkin and steam for about 10 minutes.

Cool and mash the cooked pumpkin, add the wheat flour, sugar, poppy seeds and cardamom powder. *

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.

Now drop about a table spoon of dough in the hot oil.

Let it cook till the bubbles subside. It should be dark brown in color, not black.

Perfect as an evening snack. Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

Poosanikai Halwa - Pumpkin Halwa - In an Instant Pot - Farm to Plate

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The frost hit earlier than expected this year or it seems that way because I had a field full of pumpkin plants looking green and luscious. Was expecting a regular supply of pumpkins to keep me and my CSA crew going through Fall but the frost made sure that the pumpkin plants died before that. The end result there were a bunch of young pumpkins and unlike mature pumpkins the young pumpkins have to be used pretty quickly because they will rot. So the decision to make pumpkin halwa was made. It was also Deepavali so it all worked out.

Though I made this halwa with young pumpkins, using mature pumpkin is more than fine and you will be happy with the vibrant colorful looking pumpkin halwa.

Sorakkai Halwa - Bottle Gourd Halwa - Farm to Plate

During the summer months when the plants are most productive, the need to create new dishes is always in the back of the mind. The bottle gourd plants left us with plenty of bottle gourds to spare. While the usual curry route was exhausted, had to figure out another way of putting them to use. Making desserts with vegetables seems to be a guilt free way of enjoying sweets without all those calories along with the satisfaction of putting vegetables to use in a productive way :)

When mom suggested that we make some halwa, the only time consuming part of this is grating the bottle gourd. If grating is not your thing, you can always use a vegetable chopper and chop them into tiny pieces. The texture of the halwa comes from the sugar you add. I added 1/2 cup of raw sugar for every cup of the grated bottle gourd. About 2 tbsp of ghee or however much or less you want.

Recipe in pictures,

Peel the skin on the bottle gourd, slit the gourd in half and remove the spongy white insides.
Grate the bottle gourd or use a vegetable chopper to chop the bottle gourd to tiny pieces. I did both.
In a wide mouthed pan, heat some ghee and saute the bottle gourd for about 4-5 minutes, add the milk and let it cook till the bottle gourd becomes soft.
Add in the ghee, cardamom powder and the sugar and let it cook till the moisture is completely gone and the halwa starts to glisten. Takes about 25-30 minutes.

This kind of vegetable based sweets don't have to be overly sweet, the right amount of sugar gives it the delicate flavor that everyone can enjoy without any guilt :) The added benefit the vegetable grew in the backyard.

Sorakkai Halwa
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 medium sized bottle gourd - 4 cups of grated bottle gourd
2. 2 cups of sugar
3. 2 cups of milk
4. 1/4 cup of ghee or more if needed
5. 1/4 cup of roasted cashews (skip if you do not want nuts)
6. 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method

1. Peel the bottle gourd, cut the bottle gourd in half and remove the spongy insides. Now grate the bottle gourd or use a vegetable chopper to chop the bottle gourd in tiny pieces.
2. In a heavy bottomed wide mouthed pan, add about 1/2 tbsp of ghee and saute the grated bottle gourd for about 5 minutes or so.
3. While stirring add in the milk and let the mixture cook till the bottle gourd is completely cooked. This takes anywhere between 25-30 minutes.
4. In a saute pan add ghee and roast the cashews till golden.
5. Add a tsp of sugar to the cardamom and powder it in a coffee grinder or using mortar and pestle.
6. Once it thickens add in the sugar and the rest of the ghee or more if needed. Let it cook till the sugar melts and the halwa thickens.
7. Add the roasted cashews and turn off the heat. Stays outside for 3-5 days and for a month or more refrigerated.

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Vellai Poosanikai Halwa - Kasi Halwa - Ash Gourd Halwa - Diwali Recipe

This white pumpkin halwa is something I have wanted to make for a long time now. Kept postponing because of non-availability of white pumpkin. I have seen slices of white pumpkin in the Indian grocery stores but never a whole pumpkin. So what is one to do? Try growing it of course which I successfully did this summer. The plant grows big long vines and I had about 2 of the them which gave about 12 pumpkins in total. The dry hot summer and my lack of regular watering kept the number to a minimum or we would have had more than we could handle.

These white pumpkins are great for mor kuzhamu, thayir kuzhambu and sambhar of course but I would say they were meant for making halwa.
I also froze some of it for use later in the winter months. I am not sure if you can freeze raw pumpkins but par boil them with a pinch of turmeric and then drain the water and freeze for later use.

For making halwa you need fresh mature pumpkins. Young pumpkins release too much water but don't be deterred by it. You can hand grate the pumpkin or use a food processor. I tried both ways and I prefer the hand grating method better.

If you have about 6 cups of grated and liquid squeezed out pumpkin you will get about 3 cups of halwa.

Clean the pumpkin and mince it finely using a food processor or grate using a fine grater.
Use a cheese cloth to strain the water from the grated pumpkin.
Texture are slightly different when using a food processor and grater.
Add ghee to a thick bottomed pan and add in the grated pumpkin and saute. Heat about 1/2 of the water and bring it to a boil.
Add the water to the sauteed pumpkin and let it cook till the pumpkin is soft. Add teh sugar and let it come to a boil.
Let the pumpkin and sugar cook in medium heat till it thickens. Add the saffron and ghee.
Roast the cashews in a bit of ghee. The mixture will come together as it cooks. Add the cardamom powder and mix together.

Vellai Poosanikkai Halwa - Kasi Halwa - Ash Gourd Halwa
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1/2 White Pumpkin peeled, seeds removed and grated and water squeezed out (about 6 cups)
2. 3 cups of raw sugar
3. 1 tsp of lemon juice (optional)
4. few strands of saffron
5. 1 tsp of cardamom + 1/2 tsp sugar powdered
6. 2 tbsp of ghee (optional)
7. 1/4 cup of raw cashews broken

Method

1. Grate or use a food processor to chop the pumpkin very fine. Use a fine cheese cloth and strain out as much of the water as possible from the grated pumpkin. Measure about 6 cups of the pumpkin. Do not discard the water.
2. In a thick bottomed pot add 2 tsp of ghee and then add the squeezed pumpkin. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
3. In a sauce pan heat about half of the squeezed water and when it comes to a boil add to the sauteed pumpkin just enough to cover the pumpkin.
4. Let the pumpkin cook it is becomes soft and fully cooked (takes about 8-10 minutes).
5. Add in the sugar, reduce the heat to medium and let it come to a boil. Add the lemon juice on the side to avoid the sugar from getting crystallized.
6. In a sauce pan add some ghee and roast the cashews and set aside.
7. Keep stirring so the pumpkin sugar mixture does not stick to the bottom.
8. After about 20 minutes or so the moisture should start evaporating and the mixture will come together. Add some ghee at this stage along with the saffron.
9. Cook till the mixture stars to get shiny and thick, add the cardamom powder and the roasted cashews. Mix and turn off the heat. Remove the pan from the stove and set aside till it cools down and store in a glass or stainless steel container.
10. Note:The halwa should stay well outside for a good 2 weeks and in the refrigerator for a month. It is a good sweet to freeze.
11. The water squeezed from the pumpkin can be used for drinking.
12. I used raw sugar so the halwa is dark orange in color.
13. If you used food processor to mince the pumpkin, right after you add the sugar use a hand blender to break down the pumpkin further if it is still grainy.

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