Kasi Halwa – White Pumpkin Halwa

Kasi Halwa is a very popular South Indian Halwa served in weddings. It is nothing but Halwa made out of grated white pumpkin (also known as ash gourd). The only job is to grate white pumpkin. It can be made very quickly and easily. Does not require a lot of ghee unlike this Atta Halwa. Love the glossy texture of this Halwa. I have had no plans of making this halwa at home as we hardly get White Pumpkin here. So when I happened to see it during my shopping, was so excited that I almost bought half of a big sized pumpkin. Only after reaching home did I realise the weight & price. Its so damn costly here 🙁  But after making this halwa, was so happy and totally forgot everything 🙂

Here is the video..

Now to the recipe.

[Preparation Time-20 mins : Cooking Time- 20 mins]

Kasi Halwa Ingredients:

• White Pumpkin – 2 cups (grated & squeezed)
• Sugar – 3/4 th cup
• Ghee – 4 tsp
• Cashews – 10
• Cardamom – 1
• Yellow food colour – 1/8th tsp (optional)

Method:

• Take the white pumpkin, slice off the hard skin and the soft/seed part from the middle. Cut it roughly into cubes and grate it.

• Squeeze the excess water from the grated pumpkin. I made a healthy juice out of it.  Heat a pan with ghee and roast the cashews until golden brown. Keep it aside. In the same pan add the grated pumpkin.

• Cook in low-medium flame until soft. It will reduce in quantity. Once it is cooked well add the sugar and yellow food colour (if using). Mix well and cook, it will become watery first.

• It will start getting thick and leave the sides of the pan. Add cardamom powder and roasted cashews. Mix well and finally add 2 tsps of ghee. Switch off. Refer the pic below to switch off on time.

Thats it! Kasi Halwa ready.

Serve warm.

Tips:

1. Add sugar only after the pumpkin is cooked completely. Else it will not get cooked at all.
2. U can add a few strands of saffron.
3. Make sure to cook in low-medium flame and stir continuously.
4. Squeezing the excess water helps in cooking it quickly.

– By Sundari Nathan