Description:
Butternut Squash belongs to the gourd family, a common winter squash shaped like a long pear with pale orange skin and soft orange flesh. It tastes sweet and nutty similar to a pumpkin. Its loaded with fiber, vitamin A, C & E, manganese, magnesium and potassium, and can be used in a variety of preparations. This winter squash is called Kalyana Poosanikai in Tamil and is used in many traditional south Indian dishes like Sambar, curries and sweets. Today, let’s learn how to make halwa using this veggie
காசி அல்வா / பூசணிக்காய் அல்வா / Butternut Squash Halwa / Thiyya Gummadikaya Halwa / Kaddu Halwa / Mathanga Halwa / Seegumbalakayi Halwa / Sweet Pumpkin / Pumpkin Halwa
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| Butternut Squash | 2 cups (grated and tightly packed) |
| Sugar | 1 cup |
| Khoa /Mawa | 3/4 cup |
| Cardamom | 3 (finely crushed) |
| Cashews | 10 (broken) |
| Ghee | 1 Tablespoons (for toasting cashews ) |
| Ghee | 1 Tablespoon (for toasting the grated squash) |
| Ghee | 1 Tablespoon (for final garnish) |
| Ingredients for making Khoa / Mawa | |
|---|---|
| Milk (I’ve used 2 %) | 4 cups |
Method:
Before we start we need to get the khoa ready. To make this you will need to boil milk and simmer until it condenses to about 1/5 of its original quantity. This takes about 45 minutes to an hour over low flame. Please refer this page for the making of Khoa Recipe
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove those spongy tissues with seeds.
With a knife, slice off the skin in swaths. Try to take off all the skin, leaving as much of the orange flesh as possible. I had no luck with regular vegetable peelers, the skin is so thick that it will even put your stronger peelers to shame, so use a sharp knife. Grate the orange flesh using a grater.
Heat one tablespoon of ghee in a pan and toast broken cashews to golden. Once done remove from pan and keep aside. (Oops! mine is still toasting and I clicked it )
In the same pan , add another tablespoon ghee and start frying the grated squash until it becomes slightly dry. (about 6-7 minutes over low flame)
Now add the sugar, this will make the consistency slightly watery.
Let this cook a bit until all the water evaporates.
Once done add the khoa along with crushed cardamom and toasted cashewnuts. Add the remaining ghee while its still simmering.
Cook for few more minutes or until it thickens to halwa consistency. Switch off and serve.
| Notes |
|---|
| If making khoa is an issue then just add the milk after the sugar melts and simmer for about 15 minutes over low flame or until it thickens to halwa consistency. |
| Halwa may thicken after a while, add few tablespoons of milk to adjust the consistency of halwa. |
| You will need a small size squash to yield 2 cups of grated flesh or half of a medium squash. |
| Yields about 1 1/2 cups of halwa. 4 adult servings. |