PUMPKIN/ASH GOURD HALWA

Ash gourd/Pooshanikkai/Petta
Known as Kushmanadam in Sanskrit, the ‘ash pumpkin’ has great medicinal value.

It is round or oblong in shape and has a powdery coating on its skin as though it has been rolled in ash.

This chalky wax exterior deters micro-organisms and gives the vegetable a long shelf life and it can be stored for as long as a year without refrigeration.

Known for its diuretic qualities, the vegetable contains calcium, iodine and fluorine. The shoots, tendrils, and leaves of the plant may also be eaten as greens.

A very versatile vegetable, it is used to make main meal dishes and sweet dishes as well!

You will find this vegetable smashed whole, with a smear of red kumkum, in front of shops and homes on the New Moon day to remove the evil eye.



Pumpkin Halwa

Ingredients:

4 cups White pumpkin grated
2 cups Sugar
3 Cardamom pods powdered
10 Cashew nuts
2 teaspoons heaped Raisins/Sultanas
2 tablespoons Ghee
Few strands Saffron (dissolved in warm milk)

Method:

1. Peel the outer skin and grate the pumpkin.

2. Put the grated pumpkin in a small dish and place it over half a cup of water in a Pressure cook. Cook for 1 whistle. Or zap in the microwave on High for 3 minutes. Add another minute if still uncooked.

3. Allow it to cool and take it out of the pressure cooker. Strain the cooked pumpkin in a sieve and then squeeze out the excess water with a ladle.

4. In another heavy bottomed wok or saucepan add a tablespoon ghee and roast the raisins till plump and the cashewnuts until golden. Remove and set aside.

5. Put the cooked and squeezed out pumpkin pulp in the wok and sauté for a few minutes.

6. Add the sugar and the saffron soaked in a tablespoon of hot milk and stir well.

7. Continue to sauté the halwa until it becomes a mass. Add some more ghee if necessary.

8. Finally add the remaining ghee and cardamom powder and stir on a low flame till the ghee separates from the halwa.

9. Garnish with the roasted nuts and raisins.

Serve hot.

Tasty Tip: You can add kesari/orange food colour to give the halwa a distinct look.
Healthy tip: Add an orange grated carrot along with the pumpkin for a natural colour.