Halwa on a Dubai date with a Goan cashew

Holi special

A dish that is definitely one of my experi- mental  innovations. Why should the halwa be made only of bottle gourd or only of carrots? Why not a mixture of both and trust me it tastes amazing that too with a generous mix of walnuts ground fine!! It is a treat to the palate where you will not know what has gone into the delicacy until the maker specifies the ingredients. A sure shot delightfully bite size dish that will keep you guessing!! Here goes the way I made it. 

Ingredients

1 cup  finely grated carrots
1 cup finely grated bottle gourd
1/2 cup  finely ground walnuts ( should be ground to a powder, not a paste)
6 strands of saffron
1/2 a litre of low fat milk
1 cup sugar
2 table spoons of clarified butter for roasting 
Cashews and dates for garnishing
Clarified butter for roasting

Method

In a pan take the clarified butter add the bottle gourd and the carrots, roast on a low flame till soft, add the saffron and the milk, again let everything cook well for about fifteen minutes, keep stirring, once half done add the ground walnut and let it thicken to a semi liquid consistency, add the sugar at this point and now wait for all the moisture to evaporate and let the dish get the halwa kind of texture. Remove from the flame, once cool, arrange one spoonful on a date and garnish with a cashew. And yessss... your dish is ready to be served. 

Dubai dates courtesy Sameer my son-in-law, Goan cashews courtesy my son Nidhi, walnuts courtesy  my lovely friend Rukaiya from Shrinagar.