Apple pumpkin halwa is an easy and delicious Indian dessert made using Apples and pumpkin which will truly make you thankful for the fall season and seasonal apples and pumpkins that comes with it. If you are looking for new and interesting dessert recipes for the upcoming festival season of Dussehra or Diwali or just trying to use up the seasonal produce while they are still fresh, your search ends here.
I was initially planning to make pumpkin halwa ( which is also called kaddu ka halwa or gummadikaya halwa ) when I started. But me being not a very big fan of pumpkin sweet dishes (confession time 🙂), gave me an idea to use the apples too in the halwa that my sweet neighbor gave us. Result is this mouth watering halwa which is hard to stop eating with the first serving.
What is Halwa?
Halwa is a pudding like Indian dessert usually made from some kind of flour/ravva (ex: wheat flour or semolina), ghee, sugar/ jaggery, water/milk and topped with ghee roasted nuts. Sometimes instead of the regular flour, nut flours ( ex: almond flour ) or vegetables or fruits or dals ( lentils) are used to make different kinds of halwas.
Ingredients
It needs very simple and few ingredients that we usually have at home. Let's take a look at the list of ingredients.
- Apple : I used honey crisp apples, but you can use any sweeter variety apple like fuji, gala, golden delicious etc..
- Pumpkin : I used the small bright orange color pie pumpkin which are also called sugar pumpkins. It it also called kaddu or gummadikaya in some parts of India. I will add a picture below for reference.
- Khoa : It is also called mawa or kova in some parts of India. It is available in many of the Indian grocery stores in USA in the refrigerator section. If you are in India, it is usually available in some sweet shops. I used a store bought khoa block and grated it before adding to the halwa. It can also be easily made at home by reducing 1 liter of whole milk in a non stick pot on low to medium flame while stirring frequently until only milk solids are left which is the khoa.
- Ghee and Sugar : Ghee is the clarified butter. I didn't use a lot of ghee in this recipe like usual halwa recipes. You can increase the amount of ghee if preferred. Same with sugar, you can increase or decrease as per your taste. I used powdered white sugar (confectioner's sugar) here because that is the only white sugar I have today. You can add any kind of sugar that you use regularly. Please note that if you use organic cane sugar(which is brown in color) or brown sugar, halwa color might be darker than what you see in the pictures.
- Cinnamon powder, vanilla extract, elaichi powder, Cinnamon stick : I added cinnamon powder, vanilla extract and elaichi powder to add flavor to the halwa. It gave a really nice well balanced taste to the halwa. However if you prefer, you can skip cinnamon powder and vanilla extract. To preserve the natural bright color of the halwa, I wanted to reduce the amount of cinnamon powder I add at the end, so I added a cinnamon stick to the vessel while pressure cooking the apple and pumpkin and also cooked the halwa along with the stick. Later discard it before serving the halwa.
- Saffron and milk : Soak few strands of saffron in 2 tbsp of warm milk for few minutes and then add it to the halwa at the end for wonderful flavor.
How to make Apple pumpkin Halwa ( with step by step pics )
Peel, core and chop 1.5 lb of apples ( approximately 3 big ) into cubes. Also, peel, cut in to half, deseed and chop 1.5 lb pumpkin ( approximately one and half small pie pumpkin) into cubes.
Pressure cook apple and pumpkin pieces along with the cinnamon stick in instant pot using pot in pot method on manual high pressure 6 mins and natural release for 5 mins and then quick release the pressure.
Alternatively you can also cook them in a stove top pressure cooker until you get 3 whistles or in a pot of water on stove top until they are soft enough to mash or puree.
When cooking pot in pot in an instant pot or stove top pressure cooker, put ⅓ cup of water in the vessel of apple and pumpkin pieces and 1 cup of water in the main pot of instant pot or stove top pressure cooker to build pressure.
Now strain the apple and pumpkin pieces by just placing them in a strainer to remove any water and then mash them until smooth. Keep the Cinnamon stick aside as we need it again. Alternatively you can blend them in a blender without the cinnamon stick.
Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp of ghee.
Add the mashed apple and pumpkin puree along with the cinnamon stick to the ghee and cook for 4 to 5 mins while stirring occasionally.
Now add 1.5 cup of sugar and stir well. I used powdered white sugar (confectioner's sugar) here because that is the only white sugar I have today. You can add any kind of sugar that you use regularly.
Let it cook for 5 mins until sugar is well dissolved and halwa starts thickening.
Now add 1.5 cup of khoa(khoya or mawa) and stir in well. Cook for 2 to 3 mins until it is well combined with the halwa.
Now add ¾ tsp ground cinnamon , 1.5 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp ground cardamom (elaichi powder) and stir well.
Finally add the saffron milk ( 6 or 7 saffron strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk ) and cook for another 2 mins until the halwa comes together beautifully.
Garnish with ghee roasted nuts of your choice.
Variations
This can also be made by grating the apple and pumpkin instead of pressure cooking and then cooking them in the pan to make halwa in the same way mentioned here. But my family liked the pressure cooked and mashed version better than the grated version. To each his own I guess.
Also if you want to make the vegan version of this halwa, use vegan butter instead of ghee and skip the khoya and saffron milk at the end. I haven't tried making the vegan version, if you do make it, let me know in the comments below how did it turn out.
How many days can we store this Apple Pumpkin halwa ?
When stored in an air tight box in the refrigerator, it can stay fresh for 5 to 7 days. Just warm it up in the microwave in the individual bowls in the increments of 20 secs checking in between until it is warm enough for you. Alternatively if you don't own a microwave like me, then warm it up on stove top adding little milk on low to medium heat making sure not to burn it.
Make this delicious and unique Indian Apple and kaddu ka halwa recipe for the upcoming festival season of Dussehra or Diwali to enjoy with your family and friends. Don't forget to pin it to your favorite Pinterest board to save it for later.
Recipe
Apple Pumpkin Halwa | Apple and Kaddu ka Halwa
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb apples about 3 large Apples peeled, cored and chopped into cubes
- 1.5 lb pie pumpkin cut into cubes I used 1 and ½ pie pumpkins, peeled, deseeded and cubed them
- 3 tablespoons ghee clarified butter
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 1.5 cup white sugar
- 1.5 cup khoya also called khoa or mawa, See notes below for more details
- 1 tsp ground cardamom elaichi powder
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon cinnamon powder
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- few strands of saffron optional
- 2 tablespoons milk optional
- Nuts of your choice to garnish I used cashew pieces and sliced almonds.
Instructions
- Peel, core and chop the apple into cubes. Also, peel, cut in to half, deseed and chop the pumpkin into cubes.
- Pressure cook apple and pumpkin pieces along with the cinnamon stick in instant pot using pot in pot method on manual high pressure 6 mins and natural release for 5 mins and then quick release the pressure. Alternatively, you can also cook them in a stovetop pressure cooker until you get 3 whistles or in a pot of water on the stovetop until they are soft enough to mash or puree. TIP: When cooking pot in the pot in an instant pot or stovetop pressure cooker, put ⅓ cup of water in the vessel of apple and pumpkin pieces and 1 cup of water in the main pot of the instant pot or on the stovetop pressure cooker to build pressure.
- Now strain the apple and pumpkin pieces by just placing them in a strainer to remove any water and then mash them in a bowl or plate until smooth. Keep the cinnamon stick aside as we need it again. Alternatively, you can blend them in a blender without the cinnamon stick.
- Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp of ghee.
- Add the mashed apple and pumpkin puree along with the cinnamon stick to the ghee and cook for 4 to 5 mins while stirring occasionally.
- Now add 1.5 cups of sugar and stir well. I used powdered white sugar (confectioner's sugar) here because that is the only white sugar I have today. You can add any kind of sugar that you use regularly.
- Let it cook for 5 mins until sugar is well dissolved and halwa starts thickening.
- Now add 1.5 cup of khoya(khoa) and stir in well. Cook for 2 to 3 mins until khoya(khoa) is well combined with the halwa.
- Now add ¾ tsp ground cinnamon , 1.5 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp ground cardamom ( elaichi powder ) and stir well.
- Finally add the saffron milk ( 6 or 7 saffron strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk ) and cook for another 2 mins until the halwa comes together beautifully. Discard the cinnamon stick.
- Garnish with ghee roasted nuts of your choice.
Notes
- Strain the pressure cooked apple and pumpkin pieces before mashing or making a puree to remove any water. It will save you time while cooking the halwa.
- If you are blending to make a puree, blend without the cinnamon stick.
- If you use organic cane sugar( which is brown in color) or brown sugar, halwa might be darker in color than what you see in the pictures.
- Khoya or khoa also called mawa is available in many Indian grocery stores if you live outside India. You can also make it by reducing 1 litre of whole milk in a non stick pan on low to medium flame while stirring frequently until only milk solids are left which is the khoa.
- To preserve the natural bright color of the halwa, I reduced the amount of cinnamon powder and added a whole cinnamon stick while steaming the apples and pumpkin and also while cooking the halwa. Discard it at the end.
Love this recipe? Save it to your favorite Pinterest board for later. Check out our 15 min Badam Halwa Recipe with Almond flour 2 ways | Almond halwa | Almond pineapple halwa
Leave a Reply