Beetroot halwa

Beetroot halwa is a delicious sweet made from grated beets, milk, ghee & sugar. I flavoured this particular halwa with cardamom and rose. I had some beets in my fridge and they were looking a bit sad - so I decided the best thing was to grate & peel them and then make halwa! The recipe for this is actually exactly the same as that for gajar ka halwa (carrot halwa), but the end result is moister, creamier and definitely more decadent! It was a total hit and I’ll definitely be keeping this on my list of desserts to make again.

Note: this recipe takes a long time, around 1hr on low heat, but you don’t need to be stirring all the time. So it’s not really a chore - just keep an eye on it and stir it every now and again. This recipe will definitely convince people who are on the fence about beetroots that they are actually alright! You don't really get the "classic" beetroot taste with this recipe due to the slow cooking and addition of ghee but the beets themselves impart a delicious sweet taste. As is the way with a lot of Indian desserts - they are on the sweet side, so you only need to have a small portion!

Ingredients 

Serves 4
500g beetroots around 4 large ones
1 litre whole milk semi skimmed will not give the same flavour the halwa will be runnier. Whole milk is a must here

2 tbsp sugar 
1 tbsp milk powder 
1 tbsp ghee or butter if you do not have ghee. Ghee will give the best flavour though!
1/2 tsp cardamom powder 
Few drops rosewater 
15 whole almonds chopped 

 

Method
Time - 1hr

• Peel and grate the beetroots. Add the grated beets a non-stick pan along with the milk. Mix well and bring to the boil. The halwa will cook quicker in a wider non-stick pan or kadai so do use one of those!
  
  
• Once boiling, lower the heat and let the milk simmer and reduce. Stir occasionally to scrape the milk solids. 
  
  
• When the milk is about 80% reduced add the sugar, ghee and milk powder. Mix well and let the halwa simmer until thick and delicious. 
  
  
• Add the cardamom, chopped almonds and a drop rosewater for flavour. Enjoy as a perfect after dinner treat.