If you are trying to eat healthy and have a sweet tooth like me, once you realise how easy this wholesome recipe is, it is going to become one of your favourites, especially in winter, when we have abundance of pumpkins around us! This recipe is also way easier to make and low effort than the traditional pumpkin halwa recipe.
Roasting the pumpkin instead of cooking on pan, not only saves you the hassle of standing by the stove and keep stirring it, it also adds this beautiful roasted sweetness to the halwa, and in my opinion you don't have to add as much sweetener on top, the natural sweetness does most if the job.
You can obviously add whatever nuts you prefer in this recipe, these are the ones I like to add to my halwa. If you can get your hands on Kishmish (dried grapes) from a speciality store, please do! It'll add that extra bit of texture in the halwa.
Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Bake at: 220°C (428°F) for 30-45 minutes (until soft)
- Servings: 4-5
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Pumpkin
- 3-4 tbsp Shakkar (Jaggery Powder or add your choice of sweetener)
- 2 tbsp Ghee (Clarified Butter or Coconut Oil to make it vegan)
- 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (such as cashews, walnuts, or almonds)
- 1 tbsp Kishmish (Dried grapes) (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder or 2-3 Green Cardamom Crushed
- 1/4 cup Milk of your choice
- Chopped Pistachios for Garnish
Steps
- Start by preheating the oven to 220°C (428°F).
- Cut pumpkin into two halves and remove the seeds and transfer to your pre-heated oven to cook until tender and a fork/knife can be easily pierced into it.
- While the pumpkin is being roasted, grab cashews, walnuts and almonds and chopped roughly, set aside. Also, chop pistachios separately and set aside, if using.
- If you have cardamom powder, easy, if not, do what I did, using a mortar and pestle, start grinding the cardamom pods, seeds will separate from the shells. Remove the shells and grind the seeds in a circular motion, applying gentle pressure into powder form.
- When your pumpkin is only a few minutes away from being done, heat ghee (or coconut oil, if making vegan) in a pan over medium heat. Add the chopped nuts, sauté for 1-2 minutes, then add kishmish (if using) to the pan, cook until they turn golden brown.
- Take the roasted pumpkin out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, then scoop out the pulp with a big spoon and transfer to a bowl. Use a fork to make sure roasted pumpkin is nice and smooth, then transfer to the pan with toasted nuts.
- Add cardamon powder and shakkar (jaggery powder, or sweetener you are using to taste) and give everything a mix.
- Pour your choice of milk (I used Oat milk, worked perfectly) into the pan and continue cooking on low heat for another 2-3 minutes. Stir the mixture frequently to prevent it from burning and sticking to the bottom.
- Transfer the pumpkin halwa to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped pistachios. Enjoy! 😊🎃
