Beetroot Halwa

I know that most folks do not associate the beet with dessert…..but I do! The stunning red of beets and its inherent sweetness is intensified when transformed into a halwa along with fresh raspberries! And when placed on a bed of fresh mango puree with samo seeds, this dessert is sure to win over the strongest critics of beetroot! Check it out!

INGREDIENTS

Red beetroots, Fresh raspberries,Sugar, Khoa, Ghee, Milk, Cardamom powder, Samo seed, Fresh ripe mangoes, Saffron,  Sugar cookie.

RECIPE

1. For the mango sauce:  Cook 1/4 cup of samo seeds in 1.5 cups of water on stove top till it is completely soft and mushy. Cool completely. Puree the flesh of  4 ripe mangoes till totally smooth and add to the samo seeds. Add 2 tbsps of whole milk, a pinch of saffron. Mix everything well and refrigerate overnight or for at least 3 hours.
2. For the raspberry sauce: Puree 1 cup of raspberries with 1 tsp of sugar till smooth and put through a sieve to eliminate any residual seeds. Refrigerate the puree along with the mango sauce.
3. For the Beetroot Halwa:

•  Wash 4 medium sized beets thoroughly under running water. Peel them and re-wash them and place them in a bowl of warm water for about an hour.
•  Drain off the water and wash them again and dry them off.
• Grate the beets using the medium setting on your grater. This should yield approximately 2 cups of grated beets. Keep aside.
•  Grate 1/4 cup of khoa and keep aside.
•  In a large flat bottomed pan, heat 1 tsps of ghee.
•  Add the grated khoa and saute for a couple of minutes till it turns a light brown. Keep aside in a separate bowl.
•  In the same pan, add the grated beets and 5 tbsp of whole milk. Saute on low heat till the beets soften and absorb all the milk.
•  To the softened beets, and 1.5 cups of sugar. Keep mixing till the sugar melts completely and starts to slowly thicken along with the beets.
• Add 1 cup of fresh raspberries to the beet-sugar mixture and keep stirring till the berries  break down and mix well with the beets.
•  Add 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder and 1 tsp of ghee.
•  Add the khoa and mix well.
•  The halwa will start to come together and thicken considerably.  Once it starts to leave the sides of the pan, turn off the heat.
•  Transfer the halwa to another bowl.

To serve: 

Take a deep dessert plate and add 2 ladlefuls of the samo seeds-mango sauce. With a small spoon, add drops of the raspberry puree and make a pattern. Warm up the halwa and put in a small flat cup. Invert it on to the mango sauce and lift up immediately. Garnish the halwa with a piece of a flat sugar cookie and fresh raspberries.

Serve immediately and watch it vanish!!