Easy To Make Halva (Halwa) Recipes For This Diwali

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Anukriti_Parsai]Anukriti Parsai
The history of halva (or halwa in Hindi) dates back to the 18th century. It is a very popular dessert in the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe, North Africa and Central Asia.
There are many variation on the Diwali recipe for halva that are prepared all over the world. We have for you here some delicious halva recipes that you can make this Diwali 2011 and surprise your loved ones.
Bread halva (bread ka halwa)
Ingredients:
Regular white bread - eight slices.
Khoya (mawa) - 100 grams Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Cardamom powder
1 teaspoon Ghee (clarified butter)
1 cup 1/2 cup Dry fruits and raisins for garnish
To prepare:
Remove the dark sides of the bread and rub the bread slices between your hands to make fine breadcrumbs.
Crumble the khoya and mix well with the breadcrumbs.
Add milk, sugar and cardamom powder and combine well.
The mixture will be powdery.
Now spread the ghee on a non stick pan then onto a medium heat.
Add the prepared mix to the pan and mix well.
Cook on a low heat, till the oil starts separating from the mix.
Remove from heat and garnish with dry fruits and raisins.
Serve hot.
Lauki ka halwa (Bottle Gourd Halva)
Lauki (Bottle Gourd) is also known as Dhoodhi in Hindi. This versatile green vegetable is a source of many essential nutrients and is rich in vitamins.
Ingredients:
1 kg of Bottle Gourd (fresh)
300 grams of sugar
200 grams of mawa (khoya)
50 grams (about 2 tablespoon) pure ghee (clarified butter)
2 teaspoon of cardamom powder
1/2 cup of grated dry fruits and raisins to garnish
To prepare:
Remove the skin and seeds from bottle gourd and grate it finely (you can use a food processor for this).
Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add the grated bottle gourd to it.
Keep stirring continuously otherwise it might stick to the bottom.
You will notice that the water starts separating from the bottle gourd.
Cook until the water evaporates and the ghee starts to separate from the bottle gourd.
It will turn transparent in colour.
Now add khoya (mawa) to this and mix well.
Add the sugar and cardamom powder.
Cook till all the liquid evaporates and the mixture turns into a thick pudding.
Take care so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom.
Turn off the heat and garnish with the dry fruits, raisins and some rose petals
You can serve this both hot and cold.
Note:
You can also use condensed milk in place of khoya and sugar.
You can replace khoya with reduced milk however it will take more time to prepare.
About the author:
Anukriti Parsai is a contributing member of the [http://www.diwali.net.au/diwali-2011]Diwali 2011 Network which provides event news, media, articles and Blogs for the community who celebrate Deepavali annually.
Anukriti loves every aspect of the Diwali celebration and looks forward to the preparations as well as the event every year.
Find more [http://www.diwali.net.au/diwali-2011/delicious-halva-recipes-for-this-diwali]Diwali Recipes as well as some of the weirdest and funniest video's we can find on the internet...oh and you may find a couple of interesting Blog posts.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Easy-To-Make-Halva-(Halwa)-Recipes-For-This-Diwali&id=6600295] Easy To Make Halva (Halwa) Recipes For This Diwali