Tag Archives: Halwa

Apple and Oats Halwa – A century of posts

It feels surreal to have completed 100 posts on this ‘Deelightfully Veg’ blog. The blogversary also happened last month and it has been fun sharing food posts with all my readers. It’s enriching to interact with fellow food bloggers from all parts of the world and learning things in this journey. Today, I want to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to each of you for taking the time to read my blog. Your comments and valuable inputs mean a lot. To celebrate this century on a sweet note, today’s recipe is ‘Apple and Oats Halwa’. When I saw deep red apples in the market, I bought them in bulk. And then I thought of using them in desserts so that I could finish them. Halwa is an Indian dessert typically made with milk and ghee and generally made during festivals. This Apple Halwa is ideal if you are looking for something different to make with apples. It tastes absolutely phenomenal with the right balance of sweetness and texture.

Recipe Details :
Serves: 5-6 pax
Time: 40 mins
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients :

  • 5 medium-sized red apples, peeled
  • 5 tbsp oats
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 5 tbsp ghee
  • 1 cup milk
  • 10 cashews, broken in half
  • 7 raisins
  • 2 tsp cardamom powder

Apple and oats halwa

Apple and oats halwa


Method:

  • Take a small pan and add 2 tbsp of ghee. Roast the cashews and raisins on low flame till they become golden brown. Switch off the flame.
  • Take a pan and dry roast the oats. They should turn golden brown. Then turn off the flame and keep it aside so that they cool down.
  • After 10 mins, grind the oats into a smooth powder.
  • Now peel the red apples and grate them. Use the side with the biggest holes. Be quick in this as they should not turn brown.
  • Take a pan and add the grated apples. Add the roasted cashews and raisins and saute them well.
  • Meanwhile, grind the sugar and cardamom seeds together to form a smooth powder and keep it aside.
  • Now in the cooking pan, along with apples and dry fruits, add the oats powder and 3/4 cup milk and mix all the ingredients together well. Ensure low to medium flame at this stage.
  • Keep stirring till all the moisture gets absorbed.
  • Now add the powdered sugar-cardamom mixture to this and mix well. Pour the remaining 3 tbsp of ghee and mix well.
  • To balance the consistency of halwa at the end, add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk only if required.
  • Serve this delicious apple halwa hot.

Tips:

  • The apples will turn brown very quickly once you grate them. Either grate and use quickly, or store in the fridge
  • The halwa will thicken as it cooks. Add milk to bring it to the consistency you like.

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Beetroot and Oats Halwa / Beet and Oats Halwa

I had a packet of oats lying around and was on the lookout to use it in different ways. Fortunately, I found some good beets at the market – and then I was tempted into combining the beets and oats into dessert! The dish I chose was ‘halwa’ (Indian term for a sweet dish). I was very pleased with the result as it turned out to have great taste and a perfect blend of textures – a soft base due to the cooked beets and chewiness from the oats.
Recipe for Beetroot and Oats Halwa / Beet and Oats Halwa

Serves : 2-3
Ingredients :

  • 2 cups grated beetroot (1 large or 2 small beetroots)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup rolled oats
  • 5-6 pieces each of almonds, cashews and pistachios
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp ghee

Beetroot and oats halwa

Beetroot and oats halwa


Method:

  • Peel the beetroot and grate it with a thick grater.
  • Steam the beetroot in the microwave for 3 mins. This step is totally optional. I steamed it to speed up the cooking process.
  • On a medium flame, add ghee in a pan and fry the almonds, cashews and pistachios. Keep stirring them continuously at this stage.
  • When the nuts turn golden brown, add the steamed beets to the pan and cook for 5 mins. If you have not microwaved the beets, then cook them slightly longer.
  • The water from the beet should cook out. When the base of the pan is almost dry, start adding milk. The milk should be added in stages. I added 1 tbsp of milk every 2 mins until done.
  • Now add the oats and sugar and stir well. Cook the entire halwa till all the liquid in the pan evaporates. This should take around 2 mins. Check the sweetness of halwa at this stage. I used brown sugar and the measurement specified is according to that sugar variety.
  • Switch off the flame, add cardamom powder at the end and serve hot.

Tips :

  • Keep continuously stirring the nuts in the initial stage otherwise they will burn.
  • Any variety of oats can be used in this preparation, so the only difference would be in the cooking time.
  • Continuous monitoring of dish on the flame is required in the whole preparation.
  • For those staying in Singapore, I used 100% organic rolled oats available in NTUC.