Pumpkin Halva Recipe
This is a fragrant, sweet dessert which is a little bit lighter than pumpkin pie as it has no pie crust.
Ingredients
1 kg pumpkin (weigh after peeling and deseeding – but keep the seeds!) 1 pinch saffron 2 inch stick of cinnamon 6 tbsp butter ½ to 1 cup sugar ½ cup pumpkin seed kernels Options Peeling and chopping a pumpkin is hard work. This recipe also works with tinned pumpkin – in which case, you obviously don’t need to boil it, just go straight to the frying stage. You might need around ½ kg tinned pumpkin for this recipe, but it’s just a guess. You can also buy peeled pumpkin seed kernels in a packet which is much easier. However, if you do use a fresh pumpkin, why not use the seeds too instead of throwing them away? Any oil or sweetener of your choice may of course be used instead of butter and sugar, but this will affect the texture somewhat (I imagine it will come out less stiff). However, it isn’t as crucial as in a cake and should work out fine! |
Method
Peel the pumpkin and cut it into cubes (rough chopping is fine; it will all be mashed up later). Set aside the seeds. Place the pumpkin in a large pot along with the saffron, cinnamon, and plenty of water. Boil vigorously until the pumpkin is completely soft and most of the liquid has been evaporated. (While it is boiling, you can prepare the seeds – first wash them if need be, then crack them all open to release the kernels. Dry-fry (toast) the kernels in a frying pan without oil and set aside to cool.) When the pumpkin is soft, mash it up in the pot with a potato masher. If there is still a lot of liquid, boil it again for a few minutes, taking care to keep stirring frequently so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. Remove the cinnamon stick. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if required. Push the pumpkin aside and place the butter next to it on the bottom of the pot. When it starts to bubble, mix in the pumpkin and fry the mixture until is it smooth and glossy (about 5 to 10 minutes). You will need to stir frequently at this stage. Turn off the heat and stir through the pumpkin seeds. Serve warm or well chilled. |
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