Beetroot Halva

Nutritional Benefits

Beets are loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C.  The greens have a higher content of iron compared to spinach.  They are also an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium and iron.
While the sweet beet root has some of the minerals in its greens to a lesser degree, it is also a remarkable source of choline, folic acid, iodine, manganese, organic sodium, potassium, fiber and carbohydrates in the form of natural digestible sugars.
Its iron content, though not high, is of the highest and finest quality that makes excellent food that is blood building.  This renders it highly effective in treating many ailments caused by our toxic environment and surrounding.

Ingredients:

Beetroot(beets) : 1 large or grated one packed cup

Sugar: ¼ cup

Butter: 2 tbsp

Cashewnut broken pieces: 1 tsp

Powdered cardamom: a pinch

Milk: ¼ cup

Wash, peel the skin and grate the beets to one cup. Beets usually stain the clothing and hands which stays pink for about a day or 2 so apply bit of cooking oil in hand before grating or peeling.

Place saucepan on the stove and roast the cashew nut pieces in (ghee)clarified butter and take it out and save it for later.

Place the saucepan on the stove again and add the butter.

Add the grated beets and sauté for few minutes.

Add the milk and close the saucepan with a lid and let it steam cook for about 20 minutes. Simmer the stove and toss the contents once in 5 minutes to avoid burning.

Make sure the beets are cooked. Check by pressing a grated on hand.

Add the sugar. When sugar added the halva starts to dilute and leaves water. Don’t panic.

Keep sautéing for few minutes until the water is gone. Add a dash of cardamom powder for flavor.

Garnish with the roasted cashew nut pieces.

Variation: the same process can be adopted for carrot halva too.

Vegans: replace butter with margarine and milk with soy milk.
(Photography by Ash guruswami)