buffet frenzy nostalgia
December 20, 2009 9:49 AM   Subscribe

identify this Indian dish: looks like mashed sweet potatoes and tastes sweet. vegetarian. (bonus points for a great recipe).
posted by Jason and Laszlo to Food & Drink (8 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Carrot halva? Usually it's thicker than mashed sweet potatoes, but I have seen it look like that. Usually has raisins, sugar, ground nuts, cardamom, butter, more butter, and milk in it.
posted by lleachie at 9:53 AM on December 20, 2009


Or pumpkin halwa? (If you're talking about dessert sweet.)
posted by neroli at 9:54 AM on December 20, 2009


Best answer: Is it slightly crunchy, and served as dessert? It might be gajar ka halwa (the second recipe on this page).
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:55 AM on December 20, 2009 [1 favorite]


lleachie beat me to it, I guess. But raisins? I've never had it that way, but awesome!
posted by infinitywaltz at 9:56 AM on December 20, 2009


Response by poster: I do not recall any small bits or chunks of raisin, etc. The texture was soft like mashed potatoes. It was sweet but not overly sweet. tThere seemed to be some sweetened milk in it perhaps.
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 9:56 AM on December 20, 2009


Response by poster: carrot halwa is likely correct. thanks!!
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 9:58 AM on December 20, 2009


Any halwa. If it's more yellow than orange, it may be sooji (semolina) halwa. That said, halwa can be made of just about any edible material, but the most common ones are sooji and carrot.

Whichever one you make, I recommend garnishing with blanched almonds and raisins. Yum.

(And if you try making carrot halwa and the recipe is too rich, try having it like a cereal, with warm milk. Yum again)
posted by tavegyl at 9:59 AM on December 20, 2009


Might it be a kind of kheer or payesh made with condensed milk, usually cardamom, jaggery and perhaps either rice or semolina? I've had versions that are much more "mashed potatoes" in texture than "rice pudding".
posted by holgate at 10:07 AM on December 20, 2009


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