Simplicity Coimbatore, Make kashi halwa at home </a
A beautiful oblong shaped white pumpkin arrived from our aunt’s house. The days were beginning to get warmer as is usually the case with September .It was perfect timing to make the vellai poosanikai mor kozhambhu. We try to follow seasonal recipes for our meal at home, after summer the mor kozhambhu hadn’t graced the lunch table for the past couple of months !
After making the buttermilk gravy there was a considerable amount of pumpkin still remaining. As I pondered on what to make with it ,I heard a loud clap of thunder. Honestly, it startled all of us for a few minutes. Weren’t we done with the rains for now ? Not that I will ever not want rain but climate change is a cause for concern !
Anyway , back to the pumpkin. The rains brought to mind a conversation I had a while ago with a very dear friend who lives in Noida. She always speaks about her craving for halwa and poori during the monsoons. Have you tried it ? It’s one of those very unique sweet and savoury combos. Like aam ras and poori or shrikhand and poori. Sweet with fried food, what could be more perfect !
We didn’t make the poori but we did make the white pumpkin halwa. The reason for making this halwa is because I have always wanted to try making a (gourd) halwa but in the midst of cooking everything else, the opportunity of making halwa did not present itself.
Also I come from a family where the women of my mother’s generation love to sit down and relish a well made halwa. My cousin sisters and I never really took a liking for it, I am not sure about the boys ! I know for a fact that I would never allow a helping of any sort of halwa to touch my banana leaf (halwa eating always happened during a festive occasion)
The interest in halwa happened during my pregnancy. One of my younger aunts used to make an absolutely delicious dried fruits halwa. She was uppermost in my thoughts today during the halwa cook. The dried fruits halwa was loaded with pistachios, almonds, cashew nuts, raisins, figs and sometimes dates. I developed a craving for it on several occasions and she would make it for me along with her mother by her side, my grandaunt. They would be most amused to be privy to my halwa making today.
The interest in making a vegetable halwa deepened when I read this interesting work of fiction by a talented writer called Andaleeb Wajid. Her book called ‘More than just biryani’ is something I read on repeat even today. I read it one summer afternoon in Coonoor and she writes most appetisingly about how the main character in the book learned to cook. One of the things she mastered was that of making a vegetable halwa. If memory serves me right I think it was made of bottle gourd.
Other than a carrot halwa, in the past, I would never have been open to trying out any other vegetable based halwa, especially not one made with white pumpkin. But here I was ,cooking exactly that !
The white pumpkin halwa is made in two ways. One recipe which uses milk and another which is dairy free. We went with the dairy free option .This recipe is from Padhu’s kitchen and the only alterations we made were to omit the cardamom and add about 3/4th of a lemon instead of the recommended 3 drops.
Before beginning to make it I wanted to know why it was called ‘Kashi halwa’. This halwa is from the Udupi area and well known in Karnataka so why the name Kashi ,I wondered .
Are you ready for this? It’s fascinating ! So halwa ,originally called halva is of Arabic origins. The Mughals made it with eggs, sugar, flour and aromatics. It took its own course once it entered the Indian subcontinent and inspired cooks began to turn all sorts of produce into a halwa. All it takes is sugar, some acidity and a base…like a jam almost ! Yes last week’s jam making isn’t out of my system completely !
The cooks who were responsible for introducing the halwa to Indian cuisine all hailed from the North, where the majority of Mughal influence was felt. The pumpkin is also referred to as “kashiphal” and it is believed that’s how the white pumpkin halwa got the name kashi halwa . So, no reference to the city of Kashi like we may have thought.
If you haven’t tried making it, please do. It’s a wonderful way to use leftover pumpkin . It is such a joy to make . Loved every bit of the process, right from squeezing out the excess liquid through a thin cloth to dishing up the cooked halwa into a bowl .
For me, the wonder never ceases ; watching the watery almost insipid tasting vegetable turn into golden strands of deliciousness. The transparency of the grated pumpkin threads coloured by the strands of saffron and caramelised by the panam kalkandu (palm sugar) looked so good. As the evening sun went down past the west window the light seemed to illuminate the strands of halwa even more.
Ghee, lemon juice, natural sugar, fried cashew nuts ,freshly grated pumpkin and saffron; that’s all it took to make a warm bowl of sweet halwa. As our helper at home walked past me scraping away at the pan during the final minutes, to ensure that the halwa didn’t catch at the bottom, she asked what I was making. I pointed to the pumpkin peels left on the side and her expression was absolutely incredulous. With a reaction like that I just had to let her taste a hot morsel. The smile she returned was reward enough !
After making this dish it occurred to me that my repertoire of making Indian sweets is extremely limited. Desserts like these are a part of our culinary heritage. When made well, using good ingredients, a small helping is enough to satisfy the sweet craving. It does not have to be shoved into the unhealthy category. I do believe that overeating happens more often when we indulge in refined foods on a regular basis. I could be wrong but do try a spoonful of this rich halwa and see for yourself. Here’s to more halwa making experiences !
Recipe from Padhu’s kitchen.
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