If you’re looking for that simple perfect dessert to “wow” your family this holi season – or any time of year – this simple, yet delightful dessert is your answer. There’s no sweeter way to start celebrating holi! Let me start with a colourful Beetroot Halwa – Chukandar Ka Halwa for this colourful holi. Holi festival also known as the ‘Spring Festival’, is one of the most fun-filled and entertaining festivals celebrated in India. It brings with it beautiful colours. The thought of vibrant colours not only freshens up my mind but also gets extended to my cooking. I think beetroot is one of the beautiful creations of God
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Beetroot halwa is a scrumptious pudding made from grated beetroot simmered in milk & sugar, spiced with cardamom and finished with roasted nuts. Beetroot halwa may not be as popular as carrot halwa or Suji halwa, but it’s my all time favourite. It is very nutritious and healthy. “Beetroot Halwa” is a sweet way to give your body daily nutrition
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When it comes to festivals or any celebrations, we often crave for desserts. We overeat and then feel bad. Well, I call this Beetroot Halwa – Chukandar Ka Halwa a guilt free dessert filled with all the goodness of nature. The best part of this recipe is that beetroots are already sweet, so you don’t have to add much sugar in it. Also, I used very little butter and that was quite enough. If you wish, you can add more ghee/butter to suit your needs and taste buds. What’s more delicious and nutritious than having a dessert without having to keep a watch on calories? I LOVE the way beetroot halwa tastes… The gorgeous color is to die for. Any food that is so vibrant is irresistible to me! I’m sure most of the dessert lovers out there will agree with me;-).
Let’s quickly go through the recipe. Try this delectable dessert and enjoy!!
Step-by-Step Process to make Beetroot Halwa – Chukandar Ka Halwa:
WATCH QUICK VIDEO
CHUKANDAR KA HALWA-HOW TO MAKE BEETROOT HALWA
Let’s get into the process:
- Grab all the ingredients.
- Wash beetroots and peel them.
- Grate beetroots to thick strands manually or using a food processor. Do not grate extra fine because you want to feel some tiny chunks of beetroot in your halwa.
- Heat butter in a wide skillet on medium heat and add grated beetroot.
- Sauté for about 5 minutes till the raw smell vanishes.
- To this, add the milk and allow it to boil.
- Continue to boil the contents till the milk reduces to half the quantity. This may take about 15 minutes.
- Now, add sugar and mix well.
- Simmer and allow to reduce till the fat starts to leave the sides of the pan.
- This may take another 12 to 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat once done.
- Heat a little butter in another small pan over medium heat and fry cashews till golden brown, remove and set aside. Turn off the heat.
- Keep some fried cashews for garnish and add the rest to the halwa.
- Sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well.
- Garnish with fried cashews and serve hot.
A Quick Summary:
Beetroot Halwa - Chukandar Ka Halwa | How to make Beetroot Halwa
Ingredients
- 750 grams beetroots
- 1½ inch cube unsalted butter or 2 Tablespoons ghee clarified butter, divided
- 500 ml whole milk
- ¾ to 1 cup sugar
- 10 to 15 unsalted Cashews fried till golden brown in little butter
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
Instructions
- Wash, peel and grate the beetroots to thick strands manually or in a food processor.
- Heat butter in a wide skillet over medium heat and add grated beetroot.
- Sauté for about 5 min till the raw smell vanishes.
- Now, add milk to this and allow it to boil till the milk reduces to half the quantity. This may take about 15 minutes.
- To this, add sugar and let it reduce till the fat leaves the sides of the pan. This will take another 12 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat once done.
- Keep some fried cashews for garnish and add the rest to the beetroot halwa along with cardamom powder and mix well.
- Garnish with fried cashews and serve hot.
My Notes:
- Adjust sugar based on the sweetness of beetroots.
- You can also substitute sugar with jaggery and try out for a variation.
- The proportions of sugar and butter/ghee can always be adjusted suit your taste.
- You can also include your favourite dry fruits. I avoid raisins as they are too sweet and dominate the taste of the halwa.
- Using a food processor to grate beetroots simplifies the job and saves time and effort.
- Apart from the extended simmering time, it’s very simple to prepare this halwa.
You may want to try other desserts from blog: To name a few-
Do check out other DESSERT RECIPES and some collections from blog!!
- HOLI RECIPES
- FESTIVAL RECIPES
- DIWALI SWEET RECIPES
- DIWALI SNACKS
- 15 EASY DIWALI SWEETS
- DIWALI FESTIVAL RECIPES
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.
Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
this was very healthy padma
and thanks for sharing this to us
thanks
-veer
These days m avoiding sweets,but hw can I say no to this beiayufl luking helathy halwa.i cook it in different,even it’s one of my fav too.
Glad I could tempt you:)..Thank you Maha:)…will wait for your version:)
Looks very delicious !!! I absolutely loved ur clicks !!!
Thank you Suja:)
Innovative and colourful… it would be delicious too!!
Thank you Anu:)
Never tried beetroot halwa before but you have tempted me to try this..
Thanks dear!!…Do try it out..I’m sure you will like it:)
This is so tempting halwa
It looks heavenly and healthy
Thanks dear:)
Padma, this halwa is just so gorgeous…. Lovely colour and well prepared…Great clicks tooo
Thank you so much dear:)Very happy to hear from you:)
it is colourful and inviting.We use beetroot in spicy recipes.But I guess it is good for desserts too as beetroot already have some sweet flavour.
Thank you Amila!!…Yes, the sweetness in beetroots makes it good for desserts just like carrots:)
Happy Holi. Lovely and a great recipe. Will try it soon.
Happy holi to you too:)…Thank you dear:)
Wow!! Am drooling here!! Look at the color!! Simply superb!!
Thanks a bunch dear:)
I made a similar dish out of radish few days back for trial 😉 and it came out well.. your’s looks more yummier & colorful cuz of beetroots 🙂
Thank you so much for visiting my space:)Radish sounds good:)
love it to the core…
Thanks smitha:)
Wow who says no to halwas and your recipe with beetroot looks droolicious Padma. ..
Thanks dear:)
love this recipe…….thank you for sharing this mouth watering recipe
My pleasure dear!!..Thank you so much:)
love this recipe…….thank you for sharing this outh watering recipe
I was about to make carrot halwa and was thinking it would be nice to go the beetroot way 🙂 Beautiful colour on the halwa and Love that tree trunk board 🙂
Thank you so much Priya:)Glad you liked it:)
delicious and superb Beetroot Halwa….drolling here..perfect for holi celebration..
Thanks dear Nalini:)
beetroot halwa looks yummy with Good presentation.
Thank you so much gayathri:)
Wow love it looks delicious
Thanks dear:)
delicious and healthy! I love the color of this halwa, Padma! Tempting!
Thanks a ton Savita:)
Love the colour and of course the recipe. Perfect for holi celabration, sweet and colourful!!!
Thank you dear:)
I am a beetroot fan and love this recipe! I cannot believe that I haven’t made this so far! Maybe the right time has arrived! Thank you, Padma!
Thank you!I’m glad to hear that Sridevi:)….You will surely love it..Do try it out and I will wait for your feedback:)
Loved this halwa recipe Padma!! The pictures too are such a visual treat!!
Thank you so much dear Shubha:)
Beetroot being the new Superfood, it’s the perfect choice I think for Holi. I liked your recipe, which makes use of little clarified butter or normal butter. Even as you pointed out you have not overpowered the dish with too much sugar. Keeping the ingredients minimal the hero of the dish beetroot stands out. Loved it.
Thank you so much dear:)…Actually I did this sometime back and saved it for the holi week. The other day when I Saw your beetroot dosa post…I was amazed how we think on the same lines:)..
Oh, i love that colour! I would reduce the sugar and add a little of milkmaid :))) Lovely halwa dear 🙂
Thank you Gauri:)…I have mentioned in the notes regarding sugar and I haven’t used milkmaid…it’s only milk and that too I use low fat milk usually:)
Very nice preparation. I love the colour of halwa. It is quiet different from the usual halwa. It looks delicious. I will try it out. Can I add Jaggery instead of sugar in it?
Thank you so much Ritu:)You can add jaggery but the taste will be slightly different but I’m sure that will also taste great:)I haven’t tried…Let me know know if you try out with jaggery. In either case because of the sweetness in beetroots, you will not a lot of sugar:)
This ‘Beetroot Hawla’ looks delicious Padma! Indeed, there should be vibrant colors when we are talking about Holi. What else could be better than this deep red beet halwa. Count me in for this Holi celebration! 🙂
Oh sure!!….Thank you so much for your sweet words Anu:)
Very healthy halwa
Welcome to my space and thank you so much:)