Beetroot-Gulkand Halwa

To my surprise, after years of marriage I discovered recently that my husband is a fan of beetroot halwa. Though I have never tasted this desert, I have decided to surprise him this valentine's with his favorite desert which he had tasted long long back. I then started browsing for the recipe and came across an interesting combination of beetroots and rose petals cooked together. 

Thanks to 'vahchef' who has inspired me to cook this excellent desert. I have made little changes to that recipe by adding condensed milk and substituting rose petals with gulkand (rose petal jam). Gulkand was always my fav in the paan, but never thought before that it can be used in a recipe by which taste of halwa has reached to a new level.

This halwa is filled with the richness of beets and freshness of gulkand. Gulkand is a preparation which is made by cooking rose petals in sugar syrup, in simple words it is rose petal jam. I used the store-bought gulkand, but you can make it at home too.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized beetroot

1 cup milk

Nuts of your choice (I used almonds, cashew nuts)

2 tbsp ghee

2-3 tbsp condensed milk (adjust to your taste)

2 tbsp gulkand

Method:

• Peel the skin of beetroot, grate it and keep aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan and fry the nuts and keep aside. In the same pan add 1 tbsp ghee stir fry the grated beets till the moisture is absorbed.
• Add milk and cook covered on low flame, stirring occasionally till the beets are cooked.
• Add gulkand, condensed milk, fried nuts and cook for 5 min.
• When the halwa is slightly thick take off from heat.
• Serve hot or cold or serve with a scoop of your favorite ice cream when it is little warm.

Note:

If you don't get gulkand, add fresh rose petals and adjust the sweetness because gulkand is already sweet. You can totally avoid condensed milk by adding sugar to taste.