Pumpkin Kheer / Pudding

I have never worked with pumpkin earlier, nor did I taste this vegetable in any form. Of late, I’ve been wondering on how this could be used in my cooking. Only yesterday, in the farmers’ market, my eyes struck on a beautiful pumpkin which reminded me of a gorgeous cake. When I brought it home, the idea of making a cake changed to halwa, but it finally ended up turning out to kheer J. Whatever be the form, the outcome was way above my expectation.

The rich, vibrant, golden color of the dessert has stolen my heart and I am sure can compete with any other kheer you name. If you are calorie conscious and also have a sweet tooth, this is for you. The natural sweetness of pumpkin minimizes the use of extra sugar. I can say that pumpkin kheer is one of the easiest, quickest, aromatic desserts I have ever made.

Ingredients
2 ½ cups yellow pumpkin, grated
2 cups milk
¼ - 1/3 cup condensed milk
2 cardamom pods, grounded
2 tbsp ghee
handful dried nuts & fruits (I used cashew nuts and black grapes)

Method

• Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottomed sauce pan, fry cashew nuts and black grapes, and set aside.
• In the same pan, add remaining ghee, and sauté the grated pumpkin until the moisture evaporates.
• Add milk and let it cook until it reduces to half the consistency.
• Now add condensed milk and cook for 2 minutes.
• Switch off the flame, finish it off with cardamom powder and fried nuts.