Thursday, April 3, 2008

Time To Reveal The Mystery Ingredient --- Apple & Apricot Halwa

Apple and Apricot Halwa!
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I gave it a fancier name by shaping the halwa into apple like figurines - Apple & Apricot Apples, oiii
Many Thanks are in order to all who played along, with their guesses. Pistachio was easily identified by many of you. Rava/Semolina/Sooji got the maximum votes for the main ingredient. The ingredient in the depression of the sweet was guessed as some kind of jam/fruit puree.
Well, no one guessed the right ingredient, Apple!!!
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It is Apple & Apricot Halwa and uses just a teaspoon of sugar!
This was totally a spur of the moment creation of mine. A pretty jar of bright orange organic apricot preserves sat on my counter top for quite some time. I glanced at it every time I cooked but had to stick to my resolution of not opening it until I finished the other preserves languishing in the refrigerator ;) Yeah, looking at my pantry bursting at it's seams, there were some immediate steps that I needed to take, like displaying some jars on my counter top...lol
Secretly, I wanted to eat spoonfuls right out of that jar, but sense prevailed and I concocted this delicious dish which I'm really very excited and happy about, glad to share it with you all. It's going to be a regular at my place henceforth. The apples from the fruit basket helped me along. I had seen this delicious apple halwa amongst other drool worthy dishes over at Shilpa's and was thinking of trying it and then this idea took shape.......... Apples and apricots go extremely well together.
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3 apples grated ( I used golden del)
1 tsp ghee
1 tbsp milk powder
1 heaped tsp organic raw sugar
1.5 tbsp organic Apricot preserve (I used reduced sugar)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom/elaichi
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1. Heat ghee. Add grated apples and saute till water evaporates, about 10 minutes.
2. Add milk powder and stir till it all comes together in one mass.
3. Add sugar and let it mix well. The mixture will loosen a bit and then come together again.
4. Add the apricot preserves and cardamom, mix well. Saute a bit and switch off the stove.
5. Let cool a bit and enjoy a guilt free dessert. It is something that can be whipped up in a jiffy. It has a lovely sweet and a lil' tart taste from the apricot which is a pleasure to the senses. You can adjust the sugar as per your taste. If you want it fancier, make small peda/balls out of it, add some preserve in the depression on top of the peda & garnish with Pistachio. Milk powder can be replaced with ground almonds. I'm not sure if my mind was playing games with me, but it tasted just like dudhi/bottle gourd halwa :) Please note that this halwa does not have a cloyingly sweet taste, it is just too delicious!
Enjoy!!
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p.s. ever tried jack cheese with apricot preserves? sweeeeeeeeet :)
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Have you checked out my Dates & Pistachio Poli

34 comments:

  1. try it nags, u will enjoy it :)

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  2. Apple and apricot halwa , never thought or look like apple. But it was really pretty those cute little portion :)

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  3. Iam glad I didn't try my hand at the guessing game.....I was totally off the mark....
    Like the halwa...

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  4. You come up with the most innovative sweet dishes :) I would've never guessed it right... looks delicious!

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  5. i 'think' i did 'guess' what the ingredients were ;) he he he...
    good one richa:)

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  6. thats a great combo must be tasting nice .. nice presentation.

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  7. thanks for the recipe...that looks lovely...was waiting for you to reveal what it was..

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  8. looks awesome, and am sure tastes delicious as well.

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  9. that looks delicious.. great recipe!

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  10. I was not even close at guessing!
    :-)
    Hey, but this looks awesome, especially with 1 t sugar? Great! I am trying it.

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  11. *Never* would have guessed! Sure wish I had some of these cute little bontons now!

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  12. Just one tsp of sugar? w o w! I just couldn't guess, and others had mentioned the pistachio!

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  13. Love that presentation! This is one sweet you really don't have to feel too guilty about either... Nice one! :)

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  14. Sweet....kinda instant pedas...want to try them soon

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  15. Wow, I was third right.. well, well, if i tried it I d be a better guesser ;-)

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  16. cool...my apricot guess was correct...thats an innovative one richa!

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  17. thanks cham!
    glad u liked those, i was pretty happy with the results myself :)

    thanks dhivya!
    welcome to my blog!

    thanks jayashree!

    thanks sig!
    yup, it did turn out so good that too with minimal efforts heh!heh!

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  18. thanks sia.
    good, atleast ur mind guessing was right ;)

    thanks smn!
    welcome to my blog.

    thanks sowmya.
    welcome to my blog. hope you try it sometime :)

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  19. thanks isg!

    thanks anjali.

    thanks meera!
    do lemme' know if you try, i knew the low sugar will be appreciated by you ;) btw, u don't even hv to do the pista garnish, tastes good as is :)

    thanks tbc!

    thanks susan.
    come on over, willmake it for ya :)

    thanks sra!
    do try :)

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  20. thanks kalai!
    u r right @ that, it is guiltfree with all the goodness of fruits heh!heh!

    thanks nandita!
    do lemme'know if u try! apple grating does not take long :)

    thanks uma!

    thanks zlamushka!
    you know what, even with tasting it is difficult to point out apple, easier to guess apricot ;)

    thanks sawati!
    yup u did guess the apricot,u were on the right track :) i was very happy with the outcome ;)

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  21. Well, i never could have guessed it as apple.....Richa, this is a very unique recipe...i can imagine the apple and the apricot with their distinct flavors enhancing the taste of the recipe.

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  22. I said halwa alright :-D. You and your ceaseless love for apricots ;). The halwa just looks yummy!

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  23. thanks priyanka!
    yup, this was a good combo, complimenting each other! i was happy with the results!

    thanks musy!
    true u do win a pat on the back for halwa :) but i asked for *ing...lol
    seriously, it was a good match :)

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  24. nice innovative sweet.... great combo and beautiful colour...

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  25. Hey Richa,
    Regarding the fudge- I did not add the 1 Tbsp of water. It tasted just fine. I do not know if adding it would make any significant difference.
    I say omit the H20.:-)
    I loved Patricia's recipe...super simple!

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  26. thanks sandhya!
    welcome to my blog!

    hey tbc, thanks sweetie! yeah i guess that shud be fine, just wanted to confirm so the batch does not get messed up ;)

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  27. "it was a good match"

    You mean me and the halwa, tight ;).

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  28. We were out of town and missed the last guessing game. Wow, apple and apricot! We would never have guessed!
    These look sooooo good and just pop! against the blue! Beautiful!

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  29. wow... such a nice combination. If not for this diet, I would have tried it right away. Looks SUPERB.

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  30. Loved the combo dear! halwa indeed looks mouthwatering. Loved Carrot and Orange soup too, very healthy!!

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