Halwa Varieties From Around The Web

This is one of those posts where I take absolutely no credit for coming up with these recipes. These are the Halwa ( dense sweet confections or dessert served in South East Asia) varieties that have been made and tasted by some amazing everyday chefs like you and me. And this comes right in time for the Indian festival season, from their kitchen to yours and mine -A Collection of Halwas. Easy to make, these are conjured from everyday fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains.  A quick sweet meat for your sweet tooth starting with a universal favorite- Gajar ka Halwa. Bon Appetite.

Gajar (Carrot) Halwa 

Ingredients 

1 kg Carrots, 1 litre Milk, 1 teaspoon Cardamom seeds,  3/4 cup Water,  3 tablespoons Ghee, 2 tablespoons Raisins,  2 tablespoons Almonds, 2 tablespoons Pistachios, 450 grams Sugar.

Method 

Wash and grate the carrots. Soak the raisins in water for 30 minutes. Blanch and shred the nuts. In a pan boil water add grated carrots to the boiling water and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add milk and sugar and cook on a low flame for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Mix well until the sugar has dissolved and all the milk absorbed. Add ghee and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the slightly crushed cardamoms and the raisins and Mix well. Remove from heat and garnish with almonds and pistachios. Serve cold, hot or at room temperature.

Apple Halwa

Ingredients 

2 cups grated apples (about 3-4 apples), 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon ghee (this is just used for aroma, can be omitted if desired), 2 tablespoon chopped or coarsely powdered almonds, ½ teaspoon cardamom powder

Method

Peel the apples and grate them. Heat ghee (clarified Butter) in a thick bottomed pan. Add the grated apple and fry on a medium flame, till all the water evaporates and the apples look cooked. It takes about 10mins or so. Measure the amount of cooked apple and add equal quantity/ volume of sugar.  Cook till the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally  so that the sugar is mixed well with apples. Towards the end, Stir continuously to prevent it from burning and sticking to the pan. Add the chopped or coarsely powdered almonds. This would dry it up a bit which is when you add the cardamom powder and mix throughly .

Transfer the contents onto a greased(with ghee) plate or cutting board or wax paper. Flatten it with a rolling pin. (note: To avoid sticking to rolling pin, grease it with some ghee).

Cut it into squares or rectangle or any other shape that you fancy. Let it cool down a bit before serving.

Green Peas Halwa

Ingredients 

4 cups green peas (frozen or fresh), 2½ cups sugar, 2 tablespoon cashew pieces, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder, 2 tablespoon ghee, ½ cup whole milk

Method

Microwave green peas with 1/2 cup water for 5 mins (or cook on stove top for 5-6mins). Grind into a smooth paste. Heat the paste in a thick bottomed pan stirring continuously for about 10mins. Add sugar & cashews and  cook it for about 15-20mins, Stirring often to prevent it from burning. Add ghee & milk to the mixture and stir it. Cook the mixture until it starts to look dry. Add cardamom powder, mix well and serve.

Ps:  This sticks to bottom of the pan very quickly. So keep stirring it. The sweetness largely depends on the sweetness of the peas. Start with 1 cup sugar, taste it and if required, gradually increase the sugar. Use a big pan to give enough room for stirring.

Beetroot Halwa

Ingredients 

2 cups peeled and grated beetroot, 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoon ghee (you can reduce it to 1 tea spn)½ teaspoon  cardamom powder

Method

Heat ghee in a thick bottomed kadai. Add the beetroot. Keep mixing it once in a while. Keep the heat on medium to avoid burning.

When it looks cooked and reduced in quantity, add sugar. Mix. Let it cook down. When the mixture starts looking dry, take off heat. Add cardamom powder, mix. Serve warm or chilled. (Add cashews fried in ghee on top if required).

Adarak (Ginger)  Halwa 

Ingredients 

½ cup grated Adarak(Ginger), 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified Butter) , gud /jaggery ( preferably powdered), powdered black pepper

Method

Fry ginger in ghee until it turns rosy in color. Add gud. After the gud melts completely remove from flame and sprinkle some pepper powder on it. 

It gives temporary relief from common cold.

Moong dal (green gram or golden gram) Halwa 

Ingredients 

½ cup split yellow Moong dal, washed, ½ cup unsalted butter or ghee, 1/2 heaped cup sugar (use ½ cup + 2 tablespoon more), 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder, Pinch of saffron, 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of sliced almonds for garnish

Method 

Wash dal thoroughly and soak in 3 cups of water for at least 4 hours. Drain the water and blend dal into a thick paste, adding just enough water as needed to blend. Boil water and sugar in a pan over medium heat, for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cardamom powder and saffron; set aside.In a heavy bottom frying pan add moong dal paste and melted butter. Mix well.Turn on the stove to medium heat and fully cook the dal paste. Use spatula to gently press the paste, then fold the paste over and press again. Repeat this pressing and folding of the dal paste several times until the texture becomes grainy and light brown in color. This will take approximately 15 minutes, and will have a sweet, mild aroma when it is cooked.Lower the heat to medium-low. Add sugar syrup to the dal, little at a time (watch out for the splattering syrup ). Cover and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.Remove cover, stir and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat.Garnish with almonds. The halwa will thicken over time.

Ps: A Variation of this without garnishing with Almonds, can be used to make Poli's or stuffed sweet rotis.

Singhare ke atte ka (Water Chestnut Flour ) Halwa 

Ingredients 

1 cup singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour), 1 cup sugar, 4 ½ cups water, 6 tablespoon ghee, ½ tsp green cardamoms-powdered, 1 tablespoon almonds-blanched, shredded.

Method

Put ghee in heavy pan and melt it then add the flour. Adjust flame to medium, stir properly to prevent scorching. Mix water and sugar in another pan until the sugar dissolves completely in the boiling water.   Simmer the flame.When the flour is properly fried, add the sugar solution along with cardamom powder and bring it to a boil and again simmer the flame until the liquid is absorbed. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and lumping. Turn the flame off, when a thin line of melted ghee is formed around the edges. Garnish with almonds and serve hot. This can also be set on a  greased plate and cut into small squares.

Pumpkin Halwa

Ingredients 

1 cup grated pumpkin, 1 tablespoon Sugar, 1 tablespoon Milk, 1 tablespoon Ghee (clarified Butter), 1/4 tsp cardamom or Elachi powder, 5-6 finely chopped Almonds, 5-6 finely chopped Cashews, 5-6 finely chopped Pistachios

Method

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan, add the grated pumpkin and stir well until the pumpkin is half cooked. Add milk and cook until the pumpkin is tender. Add Sugar & cardamom powder and stir on low flame until it thickens to halwa consistency. Remove from heat and garnish with almonds, cashews and pistachios. Serve hot.

Dates Halwa 

Ingredients 

Seedless Dates- 1 cup, Sugar- 1 cup, Ghee- 1 cup, Milk- ½ cup, Almonds, Cashews 

Method

Soak the dates in hot water, for about an hour and grind it along with milk. Heat a heavy bottomed pan. Add Sugar with little water. When this syrup reaches one string consistency*, add the ground date paste, cashews, almonds, and saffron. Keep stirring until it becomes little thick. When the halwa sticks to the bottom, add ghee little by little and cook till halwa consistency is reached. Decorate with cashews or almonds

* One string consistency- when tested between thumb and forefinger a string is formed.

Makai ( Sweet Corn) Halwa

Ingredients 

2 tablespoon ghee, 1 cup Sweet corn (makai), 1 cup full fat milk,  ½ cup sugar, 2 tablespoon fresh grated coconut, ½ teaspoon cardamom (elaichi) powder, A few saffron (kesar) strands, ½ cup chopped mixed nuts, A piece of edible silver leaf (vark) for the garnish.

Method

Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan, add sweet corn and sauté until it turns golden brown. While stirring continuously, add milk and sugar and simmer till the sugar dissolves. Add grated coconut, cardamom powder and saffron and cook till the halwa leaves the sides of the pan. Garnish with dry fruits and mix well. Can be Served with edible silver foil (optional)

Lauki (Bottle gourd) Halwa 

Ingredients 

1 Lauki (bottle gourd), ½ kg Milk , 1 cup Sugar , ½ kg Khoa (made of dried whole milk similar to ricotta cheese but lower in Moisture. Available in any Indian grocery store ), 4 tablespoon Ghee, A piece of edible Silver foil (varak) for decoration  , Almonds,  Cashew, Pistachio, Resins & currants.

Method

Peel Lauki and grate it. Heat ghee in a heavy pan and add grated lauki to it. Cook until the vegetable smell is lost (about 3-4 minutes). Add milk and let it cook till the lauki becomes tender. Keep stirring. Add khoa and continue cooking for a while. When the mixture is lumpy, add sugar and cook until it dissolves completely. Before serving, garnish with dry fruits and edible silver foil (optional)

Besan (Chickpea / Gram flour) Halwa 

Ingredients 

1 cup besan (gram flour), 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter), 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup nuts ( almonds, pistachios and cashews), 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder , 1 cup water 

Method

Heat ghee in a thick bottom pan. Add besan to it and fry it until it starts changing color. When besan has turned light golden brown in color then you know its time to add water. Add water slowly and keep stirring the besan thoroughly so that it doesn't form lumps. Now add sugar and cardamom powder and blend it all together and stir until the water is fully absorbed. Garnish it with nuts. Serve hot.

Badaam (Almond) Halwa 

Ingredients 

1 cup blanched almonds , 1 cup whole milk, About 3 tablespoon ghee or add 2 tablespoon more if you like , 3-4 tablespoon Sugar , 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder, Pinch of saffron (optional)

Method

Grind the blanched almonds and milk in a food processor to a coarse paste. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a heavy bottom pan, add the almond mixture and cook in medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring all the while slowly to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add sugar, stirring constantly. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until you see the mixture boiling. Add the remaining tablespoon(s) of ghee and saffron at this point and keep stirring for some more time. You know its done when the mixture comes together into one thick lump. It stops sticking to the pan. 

Aloo (Potato) Halwa 

Ingredients 

6 Boiled mashed potatoes, 4 tablespoon Ghee, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 pinch cardamon powder, chopped nuts

Method 

Heat ghee in a pan and put mashed potatoes. Cook them on a low flame till the potatoes get a reddish brown roasted colour.. Add sugar, cardamom powder and fried chopped nuts and mix. 

Bread Halwa

Ingredients 

10 slices of White Bread, 8 tablespoon Khoa (made of dried whole milk similar to ricotta cheese but lower in Moisture. Available in any Indian grocery store ), ½ cup Whole Milk, ¼ cup Sugar (powdered), ½ cup Raisins, ¼ teaspoon of Cardamom Powder, ½ cup Refined Oil (cooking Oil), 2 tablespoon Ghee

Method

In a bowl mix milk , cardamom powder & Khoa . Soak the bread slices in the milk mixture along with raisins till they are soft. Make sure there are no breads lump's in the mixture. Heat oil In a wok or pan and fry the bread mixture on low heat till it browns (Consider it cooked only when the oil separates from the mixture). Add ghee to the mixture before removing from heat. Garnish with slivers of pistachio and cashew nuts.

Khus khus (Poppy Seeds) Halwa 

Ingredients 

1 cup poppy seeds (khus-khus), 1 cup fine sugar, 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter), 2 teaspoon milk, Almonds

Method

Soak khuskhus overnight. Grind the khuskhus into a fine paste using little water. Heat ghee in a pan and add khuskhus paste. Stir continuously on a medium flame till the mixture becomes golden brown (approx 20-25 mins). Add milk & sugar and mix well till the sugar dissolves. It will leave the side of the pan. Garnish with almond pieces.

Atta (Wheat flour) Halwa

Ingredients 

1 Cup wheat flour, ½ Cup ghee, 2½ Cups water, 1 Cup sugar

Method

Take water and sugar in a skillet and bring it to a boil, to dissolve the sugar. In a separate pan mix the flour with ghee and cook it till it turns brown. Add the sugar syrup while stirring continuously  when it thickens remove it from flame. Garnish with Almonds.

The other perspective of life.

It was a bright sunny day and I was driving down from somewhere and turning onto a familiar road right by where we live. I would have driven by this place a million times but the thought just struck me that it actually looked pristine , fresh and nice. So I braked and removed my polarized glasses to absorb with my naked eye, the beauty that I seemed to have missed until then.   I realized that nothing had changed, it was the same usual place I was used to and had seen every single day.. But when I donned on the polarized glasses, the same mundane environ seemed picturesque and something to behold.

This got me thinking ... isn't life the same? When we wear polarized lenses (our belief and likes) everything seems beautiful. But when the glasses are removed, the belief is shattered. What we liked with the glasses on is suddenly something we dislike and the very same scenario turns unsavory. 

Wish we could see life with this "other perspective"- with polarized glasses on all the time .. It would be a more beautiful place to live and behold. A place where there is love & bloom in every season, where the cool breeze takes the sweat of labor and frustration away. And life is like living on a rainbow! 

This is all about looking at life in other perspective.

The Bald Eagles of Bordentown

This is a story of a pair of Bald eagles we named Mr. & Mrs.Borden that call the Duck Creek in the Hamilton Marshes home. This year we were fortunate to get a window into their world as they welcome and raise their new family.

Mr. & Mrs. Borden have been seen fishing and hunting around the Delaware River & the Crystal Lake  often with a couple of more of their kind for  over half a decade. We didn't know where they were nesting except that they were know to be nesting somewhere nearby.

In the last weekend of March we decided to try this new nature trail by the Delaware River in Burlington County and lo and behold spotted the aerie high up on a tree over 100 ft from the trail on which we were . The new proud parents were in their nest possibly guarding their young.

Canyon vistas from Colorado, Utah, Arizona to California.

Someone once said a picture is worth a 1000 words, so I figured in the Travel Category of this blog I will let the pictures do the talking ..

This picture was taken at Canyonlands National Park, located in the southeastern Utah. Colorful Landscape which include The Island in the sky, the needles , the Maze , the Colorado River and the Green River add to the attraction  of the state that draws millions of people from around the globe. This is the Mesa Arch at Canyon Lands. You can clearly see the La Sal Mountains about 35 miles away and the Colorado River  in the canyon 2000 feet below. 

This too shall pass

Each of us in our lifetime come across atleast one such person that leaves a lasting impression for life. I am blessed to have such people in my own family and one such person in my life who would light up a room with her chatter and her vivaciousness is the reason for this post.  A wonderful person and an amazing cook with a zest for life . Heres her blog on my blog --> A special blog

Travel

Travel, simply put is the act of going from one place to another .. but its not that simple when you want all the creature comforts that you are used to in your day to day life.

For me, travel is always a 4 stage process : Planning, Preparation, Execution and winding down.

Planning: At this stage its all about identifying the location , booking airplane tickets (if it requires air travel) , lodging and transportation, mapping out places and people of interest at our destination (using mapping software such as MS Streets & trips or Google/Yahoo maps), making advanced bookings
for activities that might interest us at our destination and of course planning on what and where we will chow when we are traveling away from home. The last point is especially important if you have food restrictions (eg. Vegetarianism) as we do.

Smile when they Say "cheese..!!"

I was having this conversation with some older women in the family about how they never smile when someone points a camera at their face and says Cheese. They came with explanations ranging from we are old, to we were tired, to in our days we were told not to by our in-laws , to we have forgotten how to smile having gone through the toils of life .

My point was simple when you smile into a camera you capture good emotions for life and generations to come vs a grouchy image..! Pictures are worth a 1000 words and you might as well write good words with that smile - even if its a fake smile..No one remembers how tired , sick , good or bad you were.. What everyone remembers is that you smiled (or you din't) .

Literally speaking a smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles near both ends of the mouth. But that expression has many effects on the receiver ranging from a calming effect to a loving affectionate one. Children are seen attracted to ever-smiling people versus their grouchy counterparts as they can only relate to emotions not to words.

Scientifically, a laugh (the big brother of a smile), is known to improve health by suppressing stress hormones which is the major cause of most ailments. Having read of so many important reasons for flexing the Zygomaticus muscle, flexing them ever to often is a great idea, so go on and smile and flash those pearly whites :)

Earthquake

Earthquake in the NE United States..
I was sitting comfortably on my couch reading up something when I felt everything move and rattle around me. My first thought was that my head was spinning until I heard the china clatter and the chimes ringing rather loudly.. It felt like someone was moving my house with a bulldozer . And yes it was moving!! And the mover was none other than Mother earth .!. At 5.9 on the Richter scale, NE United States experienced an earthquake for the first time in a long long time.. !!

I stepped out and my neighbors who have been here for almost half a century were talking about how this was the first ever time they had experienced an earthquake in their entire life.. My aunt at 79yrs doesn't remember experiencing an earthquake her entire life in the NE.

Different people have different reactions given a situation.. and this was a perfect example of that theory . There were those that were frantically calling 911 and yet others that were calling their loved ones to find out that they were ok.. while some were huddled in their homes in front of their TV's trying to make sense of the whole thing and wondering whether they should go and hide in their basements.. And there were also those that were panicking and crying thinking about what could have happened had their roof collapsed on them !! Amidst all this there I was standing and chatting with my neighbors. It turned out , I was the only "previous-earthquake-experienced" individual in that crowd. This got me thinking ..unless we are hit by a situation most people don't take the pains to get the know-how about things and thats especially true for calamities..

Simple things like when..
1. theres an earthquake go out and stand clear of anything that might fall or if you are in a building get under a table or other heavy furniture
2. theres a tornado go into a windowless room or get down to the basement or any concrete structure closer to the ground or underground
3. theres a hurricane stay indoors away from doors and windows
4. theres a thunderstorm don't take shower or be in the water even indoors
5. theres lightening stay indoors or inside a car (if you are out and about )
6. theres a fire cut all sources of fresh air/ oxygen
7. theres an oil fire or for that matter and over heated pot don't pour water
8. you are chased by an elephant run zigzag and when its a bear assume fetal position

These are some of the common things that most people don't know and don't believe in knowing either until they are in the thick of the rut..

I hope

I hope you are blessed
with love thats innocent as a child's smile
with the blessing of every soul that touches your life
I hope you have the courage to stand up for what you believe
and the wisdom of a lifetime
You cherish the moments with every soul that touches your life
I pray you smile
I hope music runs in your veins & colors fill your life
I pray the life you choose gives you everything you hoped for
I wish the hunger to be a starry eyed child once again never dies
I pray the breeze tickles your funny bone
& the birds make your spirits sore
the flowers fill your dreams with fragrance.


Copyright: Vidhya Sandilya

Fear

We live in a society where fear is fed to the masses in every which way conceivable. No form of communication is spared. I was just browsing through the news when I came upon pages and pages of how the economy is really down trodden, infants sleeping with the parents in the bed being in harms way.., global warming, animals going haywire and attacking.. and the list goes on & on…

As a specie we've been "wary and afraid" of everything .It is ingrained into our DNA so it doesn't look like its gonna change anytime soon. When our tree dwelling ancestors set foot on the ground they learnt about the perils of living on the ground. The big brain they were blessed with, helped them devise strategies and methods to be safe (besides harboring feelings such as fear). The optimum use of the brain got us to where we are today- at the top of the food chain. Being on top of the food chain just dint do it for us.. we are still "afraid".

Industrialization just added to our woes. Besides the fear of the natural phenomenon, we started fearing Pseudo phenomenon (also called situation created by man) . Growing up in a developing country I learnt that , not everybody is born with good fortune. To keep that good fortune one has to work their entire lives, so the fear of loosing is instilled even as a child.

Im am still trying to figure out how for generations we have been safe as kids sleeping with our parents, and then some scientists and analysts come along and all on a sudden Its simply not safe for babies to cosy up with their parents as they might inadvertently squish / suffocate their babies in their sleep.

People claim that animals are dangerous but in their zest, fail to acknowledge that Animals are Animals. They are not in your path you are in theirs. They attack when provoked, all in self defense or in the quest to survive. We should know better being the brainier ones in the lot..!!

Fear is a little devil that robs you of everything because we evaluate any situation with respect to our own self. Alas, if we looked beyond our little world to greater heights where "WE" are insignificant, then perhaps some good can be achieved and fear eliminated. As a rational person I know that is unlikely to happen so for now we live , soaking ourselves in the very fabric of life that is dripping with fear in all forms.

A new beginning

It was a lazy day where my mind was busy as ever my soul not at peace, So I figured I'll vegetate I landed up on this movie Eat pray love by Julia Roberts and something in me kept me from flipping from that channel. The story revolves around a divorcee that goes to Rome, India and Bali to find herself.. Both she and her estranged husband still love each other, but its not the same somethings changed between them so they part ways .. In her quest to -heal herself and to find the word to describe what she wants of herself and her world.. she travels.. She meets with new people and has some amazing experiences.. and in the end finds her true love and the word.. "attraversiamo" which basically means " lets cross over" in Italian. It got me thinking how all of us are constantly searching for ourselves .

Our identities are always in relation to another person.. we are a daughter, son, sister, brother, spouse, friend or parents but individually what are we if we are none of those?
I would like to believe I'm an individual in flesh and blood with a heart full of feelings and a mind full of ideas. But Im still lost?

I remember the time when I used to write .I used to sing and dance. A silly joke would send me rolling on the floor laughing and sadness make me choke with tears. All those "emotions" as they are called are lost on me since I loved.. What am I now?

The questions keep haunting me day in and day out.. and today I think I've found my word .. Attaversiamo. As we embark on a newer year I want to cross over to a time where I still believe.. my heart sings and soul dances and I tear up with laughter and the touch of my love feels like a breeze on top of the most amazing mountain ..

Don't know what the future hold's in store, but I sure hope this year brings me the courage to fly to great heights and confront my biggest foe that stays within me..After all this I would love to say Attraversiamo ll mio amore (lets cross over my love) to where theres courage to accept that failures are not permanent and shall pass , there is determination to plow on to reach my goal , compassion to lend a helping hand to the one in need and love thats as vast as the universe itself.

A new beginning thats what it is.