Aalu ka Halwa a.k.a. Potato Sweet mash

Ok , this is not the Sweet potato mash, if you have read that. This is a famous dessert of North India which is made by sweetening the potatoes. Aalu ka halwa, we call it. I was longing for very long to make this. Never actually got a chance to cook it myself. Each time I have had it so far, either Mom prepared it or any other relative or friend. This was the first time I cooked it was amzed by the simplicity of the method.

I loved the taste and texture of the halwa, with as usual the lesser amount of ghee that the original recipe asked for. When I  told Mom about this, she said ‘’ you always ruins the taste of the dish by adding less quantity of fat to it. Fat is required to enhance the taste and aroma of the dish. Jitna gur daloge utna hi meetha phal aega’’. L

Anyways, she doesn’t understand that its not about richer taste all the time. We are so food buff  and eat such rich variety, that whenever I cook something I have to deal with the trauma of the quantity of fat used in it. Still, since this is a wonderful dessert, rare indulgence is not bad either: D

Ingredients:

     1.       3 large potatoes, boiled and cool off at room temp

     2.       2 tbsp Ghee

     3.       ½ cup Sugar

     4.       A pinch of cardamom

     5.       ½ cup cashews, chopped and lightly roasted

     6.       ¼ cup almonds, flaked or chopped

     7.       ½ cup raisins.

     8.       ½ cup milk

     9.       3-4 strands of saffron ( optional )

     

      Method:

     1.       Peel off boiled potatoes and mash by hand. Keep aside

     2.       In a pan, heat ghee and roast mashed potatoes into it for 7-8 minutes. The color of potato will turn a bit brownish.

     3.       Add milk, sugar and raisins and mix well.

     4.       Cook for another 8-10 min stirring frequently.

     5.       Add in cashews and cardamom. Stir once and turn off the flame.

     6.       Garnish with flaked almonds and saffron

This recipe takes part in :
Kalyani's Food For Fasting,  Diwali Special : Sweet and Savories by Radhika, Khushi's My Diwali my Way, Anu's Happy Diwali event, Srav's Whats For Friday dinner, Any one can Cook 

Vardhini's Sinful Delight, Julies's Christmas Delicacy , Smita's Celebrations 2011