22 February, 2024

Ash gourd halwa| Dumrot| Kashi halwa| ಕಾಶಿ ಹಲ್ವಾ| ದಮ್ರೂಟ್

Today I’m going to post a yummy halwa recipe, which is made using a vegetable. And that vegetable is called as white pumpkin, Ash gourd, winter melon in English, Safed Petha, Kashi Phal in Hindi and boodu kumbalakayi in Kannada.

As the Ash gourd is called as Kashi Phal in Hindi, the sweet (halwa) prepared out of it is called as Kashi halwa. But many people confuse it to the holy place Kashi or Banaras or Varanasi or Prayagraj.

This halwa is a standard feature in weddings of Karnataka. For so many years it was a compulsory sweet during ”varapooje event” in wedding, which is held on the eve of the wedding day.

Ash guard has got 95% water content which is considered good in Hypertension patients. It also contains calcium and it helps in weight loss too I guess. So today sharing the recipe of how to make Kashi halwa/dumrot

In my method I cook the grated ash gourd in its water only until soft, then drain the remaining water if any and use it in other dishes of the day. I put roasted semolina/rave/sooji in a small quantity to get that crunchy taste and I don’t use any kind of Khova/Khoya in this recipe.

Ingredients : measuring cup used – 250 ml , serves – 4 to 5 persons

Grated kumbalakayi/ash gourd/Petha – 3 cups
Sugar – 1 cup(I have used raw cane sugar, which in fact adds to the color of this halwa)
Semolina/rave/sooji – 2 tbsp
Saffron strands – 1/4 tsp
Ghee – 3 tbsp
Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp (adjust)
Raisins – 2 tbsp (adjust)
Cardamom powder – 1/8 tsp

PROCEDURE :

Cook the grated ash gourd along with its water in an open vessel ( I think you can pressure cook for one whistle as well) until soft (do not make it too soft, but keep it crunchy), squeeze and discard the remaining water if any

Soak saffron strands in a spoon full of warm water
Heat ghee in a pan add in the semolina, roast for a minute on medium heat, then add in broken cashews and raisins and roast them together or you can also roast the semolina separately and add it at the end

Now add in cooked ash gourd, sugar, saffron strands and cardamom powder

Stir everything well continuously on high heat for a minute or so, remove from the heat when the mixture leaves the edges of the pan and serve. If you haven’t added roasted semolina at the beginning, then you can add it here now