Wednesday 27 August 2014

Kaddu Ka Halwa - Indian Pumpkin Dessert

Kaddu Ka Halwa - Indian Pumpkin Dessert

Bored up with normal suji ka halwa? Then try this you will really fall in love with the combo, texture and taste!!

    Dum roat ka halwa is famous in southern part of India, and I guess very few people know about it. In Chennai, we get the best dam ka roat halwa in Basha Sweet shop, triplicane. Honestly nothing can beat his authentic taste which he is been carrying since so many years. These days Dum ka roat halwa is made and exported to other places too, If by chance you come across this halwa? do not hesitate to purchase a small box just to taste on how it is.

       It was when I was eating dum roat halwa which my relatives has brought, I started thinking what could be the recipe? how is it made? what are the ingredients? and yes then came the next step to Google!!! I wanted to check out for the recipes and landed to a blog which showed a recipe of dum roat ka halwa it did sound interesting, but still clueless upon the authentication, uncle ji had made it according to what he has tasted in udipi krishna bhawan balepet, Banglore. He made a close try though, And I tried to try his trial, omg a long process im crazy at times!! But I was positive even if I cannot reach the dum roat halwa effect atleast close by??? atleast something new???  Oh my mom is supportive in such cases I love her for this. I told her abt the recipe she said try lets see!!


     The star ingredient here is Ash gourd. You can use yellow pumpkin / bottle gourd too all these three in common are called kaddu which belongs to melon family with difference is size shape and taste. With lots of water content in them and very gud for health.

Preparation time - 30 mins
Cooking time - 30-40 mins
Servings - 10-15 people

Ingredients:
Kaddu/ pumpkin - 2.5 - 3kg 
Suji/ semolina/ cream of rice - 1 to 1.5 cups (grind it to fine powder)
Sugar - 2 cups
Mawa / Solid milk fat- 200gms
Ghee/ clarified butter - 150- 200 ml as needed
Elaichi/ Cardamon - 5-6 (seeds crushed to powder)
Almonds - 8-10 Grounded or chopped
Water - 4 cups
Food color used - yellow a pinch or more

Method:
- Grate kaddu and squeez all its extra water. Save the water for further use.
- In a kadai take 2-3tbsp of ghee and dry roast kaddu till it turns golden or cooked. Now add the kaddu water which you have saved into the kadai and close the lid, cook it nicely for 5-10 mins in medium flame it all the water gets absorbed. Keep it aside
- In another kadai take 2-3 tbsp ghee add suji and roast it in low medium flame till light golden brown and nice aroma of ghee comes.
- Boil 4cups water side by side.
- Once suji is roasted, add boiled water to suji and mix it well.

- Quickly add cooked kaddu, mawa, extra ghee, elaichi, sugar & yellow food color, mix it well!

- Keep mixing till everything gets blended well. (oops my hands ache) I got a better alternative to this (SEE NOTES) do all this in medium flame.
- Close the lid and allow it to cook, keep stirring time to time. till it starts moving as a mass nicely polished kind of appearing will come. preferably use a nonstick pan for the effect. (takes 15-20 mins)

- Add in some nuts and raisins if you desire.
- You will really get to know when its fully done. Switch off the flame
- Serve it warm or in room temperature both taste really awesome!!

My Recomendations:
- Since I worked out as per the recipe but honestly I felt only a man can become halwayi. Its not a female job to keep stirring with full efforts. My hands started aching real bad. I even called my brother to help me lolzz. The reason was suji was getting lumpy now and then, I had to make real efforts to break the lumps and allow a gud mix throughout for a homogeneous mixture.  

So the alternative I can fix here is when you boil water, add in kaddu, sugar, mawa, elaichi and ghee to it, let it come to another boil when everything gets mashed up. Then add suji from top and cook in low flame. This method will really save ur hand muscle efforts. Also it will not form any lumps.

- I added mawa just like that as you see in pics. But it will be much better if you can blend it in mixer with little milk or water and then add this to halwa. It will also help in easy mixing!!

Notes:
- Dont avoid suji it helps give some texture to the dessert. Though it may get lumpy (I dint face any problem), but still it can be managed by adding more ghee to make the halwa soft.
- If you dont have mawa, you can replace it with 1 tin of condensed milk. (adjust sugar accordingly)
- If you feel sugar is less, you can add it at any point while cooking but make sure its mixed throughly.
- I did not add raisins and cashews. You may add for extra crunch and flavor.
- Original recipe suggests adding camphor and kesar. If you like the combo go ahead for flavorings, but we do like camphor in our food, any north Indian wont!! Ive seen south Indian adding it to their prashad I dont know the reason though!! But it will for sure change the flavor and taste of this dessert. 
- Each time you reheat add some ghee this will keep the softness and flavors intact!!

***You can half the amount for less servings, But you also you can store it in fridge for later use. can keep gud for 2-3 weeks when stored in well refrigerated condition. Will show another dessert with left out halwa soon!!


When my brother tasted it, after few seconds said very close by!! Oh that was satisfying though. I felt the same!! it was too close, but that punch was missing. Yet this halwa was too delicious with lovely texture as we eat little by little at a time. Dont try to gulp in a big spoonful into the mouth, you will miss the taste and texture it carries. 

More In dept knowledge on what is dum ka roat halwa:
     With more of my research towards dum ka roat Reema shared that authentic halwa is made only by suji and mawa, no pumpkin involved. Yea it was shocking on how smooth and nice halwa is obtained just with suji and mawa as star ingredients. Further she said, it is a slow cook process made on charcoal fire. And im sure after cooking it is also baked!! If one notices charred marks on the halwa tray's in sweets shops?

Sharing some pictures from other websites.
From Basha Halwa!! Yess I loved the burnt side of halwa more. Its so flavorful....

This is click from the website I took the recipe. Well yess very late I found this post n click. This pic again shows the product is cooked & baked in charcoal fire.

I know my post must be disappointing to ones who wanted to try about dum roat ka halwa at home like me. But since the procedure is too different and difficult too, it cannot be made at home just for a little gathering.


So for now you can try this pumpkin halwa which is a close by end result to dum roat ka halwa!!

Until then cya bubye :)

Hope you enjoyed reading my post. Do leave back your valuable comments n feed backs, any quire?? do not hesitate I'll make sure I answer it at my possible best quickly :)





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14 comments:

  1. hhmmm even i love the halwa and i make in a different way without adding mawa.. super delicious

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  2. Aara this is so well explained dear yummy shall try it sometime.. Seriously it looks awesome I love it's color too

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  3. Looks super yummy.. Rich and delicious

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  4. My family fav dessert...... Looks delicious!!

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  5. I am not a pumpkin fan...but this kinda sounds interesting to me ...a special halwa indeed afterall cooked by ur entire family i belive :D ....Unity is strength my dear friend ;D ....

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  6. looks yum! this is slightly diff from how I have tasted.. will try

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  7. I love the addition of pumpkin; one of my fav and those other ingredients; splattering just like crazy in taste.

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  8. I can have a bowl of this halwa happily rite now.

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  9. Yum...love to try this version too....

    Better late than never.....Thank you for taking time and participating in Global Ramadan event Joy From Fasting To Feasting - VII and making it grand success with your yum entry.....

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  10. its a very yummy halwa n very rich in taste too.my fav ,,nicely explained.

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  11. I never knew that South India makes it in a different way, lovely halwa. I can eat some anytime.

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  12. Hello. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I am looking for the original Dum Ka Roat recipe which you mentioned in your post. I could't find the real recipe after searching the net and the source provided (Kudpiraj?). Could you please share the original recipe? I intend to try even if it is difficult.

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    Replies
    1. Hi thanks for dropping by your comment. The original recipe seems to be lost and hopeless now!! I think the halwayis who made dum ka roat long years back which we used to have in our childhood days are dead or old no more cooking it. The ones who make it now just try to put up a xerox copy of the halwa with zero taste seriously!! After getting married I live in royapettah and here we have many shops including badsha halwa who is famous for its own original recipe of dum ka roat itself has lost its essence. Not even a month back I purchased from there and the taste was hopeless.
      this recipe was my attempt to recreate dum ka roat but sadly I coudnt reach the taste to the original recipe. By browsing youtube channels I can make out that the halwa after being cooked need to be put to dum (as biryani) with charcoal on top and bottom. Thats what will give us the burnt effect of halwa we get in halwa shops.
      If possible pls leave me your email id or fb contact link I will note it down and delete your post from the blog so that you dont be troubled by random people.
      I will give you the most possible links I found out in youtube which can bring most possible taste as we find it in sweet shops. For time being I can suggest you to follow the above recipe and bake it 15 mins or give charcoal dum I am sure you'll be able to get the original halwa effect.
      Thank you

      Delete

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