Kashi halwa / Ashgourd halwa

My mom really liked Kashi halwa and it was her wish that we jointly make it when she was over at my place. So the below recipe was the first for both of us. Turned out very good I must say but the quantity was too little for me :D I could have eaten the whole thing alone...

Ingredients:

Ash gourd / Petha/ Boodhi kumbalkai/ White pumpkin - 3 cups (peeled, deseeded, grated and squeezed)
Sugar - 1.5 cups
Ghee - 4-5 tbsp.
Elaichi / Cardamom - 3
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp.
Raisins / Kismis - 1 tbsp.


Method:

Peel the pumpkin, deseed it and grate it
Squeeze out as much water as you can. Save the water for later, do not throw it out.
Heat 1 tbsp. of ghee in a pan and lightly fry the cashew and the raisins until slightly brown
Remove from ghee and keep aside
Add 2 more tbsp. of ghee and fry the pumpkin in it until the raw smell of the pumpkin disappears
Transfer the pumpkin to a cooker, add 1/4 cup of the pumpkin water and pressure cook for 3 whistles or until soft
Transfer this back to the kadhai and cook until the water evaporates and the pumpkin is soft
Add 1 cup sugar and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the halwa thickens. Add the remaining sugar if needed.
Add the crushed cardamom and the dry fruits
Add the remaining ghee and serve

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Majjige huli

Every woman needs a day off from cooking. I decided it was today as I was bogged down with office work (the woes of IT world). I handed over the kitchen to my dearest hubby. Menu was decided as majjige huli and rice. My favourite huli/sambhar is majjige huli. It's base is not with lentils or dal but buttermilk or curd. Hubby promptly called up his mom for the recipe and whipped up an awesome dinner. Ahhh heaven...:) It is my mom-in-law's recipe that follows...

Ingredients:

White pumpkin - 2 cups (peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes)
Fresh grated coconut -  3 tbsp
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 1-2
Ginger - 1/2" piece
Cumin seeds/ Jeera - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 2 tbsp
Curd - 1 cup
Curry leaves - 5-6
Oil - 3 tsp

Method:

Soak the chana dal in half a cup of water and keep aside
Boil the pumpkin in 2 cups of water. Add around 1 tsp salt to the water. The water should cover the pumpkin. Add more water if needed.
Boil the pumpkin until done, it should still be stiff but allow a knife to pierce smoothly through it. Don't let it become too soft, it should still have a bite to it.
Grind together coconut, coriander leaves, ginger, cumin seeds, chana dal (drain out the water), turmeric powder, green chillies and 1 tsp mustard seeds with a little water into a fine paste
Add this paste to the pumpkin and cook for 2 mins
Churn the curd or blend it in a mixer to remove all lumps and add it to the pumpkin. Lower the flame and cook for another minute. Do not cook on high flame else the curd will split.
Add salt as needed.
Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds.
After the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and pour this tempering into the majjige huli.
Enjoy with rice

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