“In a lot of Indian sweets, the base technique is cooking something down in lots of milk,” chef Preeti Mistry says. “I don’t make a lot of desserts, and what I love about this one is that it’s really easy for non-bakers to make.” This vibrantly hued halwa consists of grated beets cooked down in the milk, giving the beets a surprising richness. Fold in pistachios for texture and crunch, and serve this warm or chilled. If warm, you can scoop ice cream on top. If chilling, halwa can be set in a 9x9" baking pan if you don’t have ramekins.
The spices in this recipe are the same ratio Mistry uses in their masala chai, so reserve any extra for use in tea.
Recipe information
Yield
8 Servings
Ingredients
½
1
1
2
2
5
4
4
½
1
special equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°. Toast pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop.
Step 2
Meanwhile, crush cinnamon stick with the side of a chef’s knife to break into pieces. Toast cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, and cloves in a medium skillet, stirring occasionally, until slightly darkened and very fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer to spice mill or mortar and pestle and let cool; finely grind.
Step 3
Grate beets on the large holes of a box grater. (You should get 4 heaping cups.) Transfer beets to a medium saucepan and add milk and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thickened, 16–20 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla, and 4 tsp. spice mixture (use the leftover spice mixture in other desserts, hot chocolate, or to make chai). Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring, until liquid is almost completely evaporated, 15–20 minutes.
Step 4
Stir half of the pistachios into beet mixture and divide among 8 small ramekins or small bowls.
Step 5
Top halwa with remaining pistachios just before serving.
Do ahead: Halwa can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.
Leave a Review
Reviews (7)
Back to TopFlavor is perfect, but per other commenters it needs MUCH longer than 20 minutes to cook down. Maybe an hour+ on medium-low heat? But it was pretty hands-off so it was easy to let it take the time it needed as I was working on other things in the kitchen.
Emily
Pittsburgh, PA
10/14/2021
Can you do a more keto version by using monk fruit sweetener instead of all that sugar. I never use sugar in anything now but do love halvah as I recalled it from childhood when we were given lots of sweets.
Tamarque
New Paltz, NY
6/15/2021
Same as the review below -- this took me about two hours total to get the milk to evaporate. It was worth it. I am East Indian and grew up with sweeter halwa, so next time I'd double, maybe triple the amount of sugar. But the spices are sublime and work really well with the beets, and the colors of the scarlet beets contrasted with the bright green of the pistachios are really spectacular.
Anonymous
3/28/2021
I'm cooking this right now. i'm not sure anyone tested this recipe as it's impossible to have 4 cups of a liquid and to cook it of in 15-20 minutes to it almost being completely evaporated. I've been cooking mine for at least an hour and it's not done. I even poured off some of the liquid and it's still not done. Otherwise, it smells amazing and tastes so good. I used a mix of beets and carrots. I really like the earthiness of the vegies with the spices.
Nancy I
Santa Barbara, CA
3/22/2021