Oats Halwa | Pumpkin seeds halwa

oats halwa

                    Oats Halwa | Pumpkin seeds halwa . Are you wondering how this is going to taste?  Just divine. Pumpkin seeds are high in antioxidants and rich in many vitamins (especially vitamin E) and minerals. Traditionally these seeds are used in many countries as a natural remedy for expelling tapeworms and parasites from the stomach. According to studies, they prevent in the formation of stones in kidneys and are beneficial to reduce the inflammation in people suffering from arthritis. These are only a few to mention. Studies are under way to prove that these tiny seeds can be helpful in regulating the insulin, benefitting diabetics and they might even reduce the chances of cancer. So do grab a pack of these seeds from your grocery store and try to use more of these in your granola, cakes, muffins or any other dishes. Today, I will share a simple Halwa recipe, which my mom usually prepares. If you want to replace jaggery with sugar, you can very well proceed, but we have never tried it with sugar. We have been cooking this with jaggery , karupatti (palm jaggery) and coconut palm sugar, all taste good. All you need is a good sweetner free from any kind of debris as we cannot dilute and filter the sweetener here. If your karupatti has a strong smell, which you cannot stand, then you can use few drops of rose essence.

The reason we use almonds for this recipe is to make it tastier and to balance the flavor of pumpkin seeds which many do not like. Using walnuts is optional; I just used them to empty my jar.

Ingredients

1 cup of pumpkin seeds

1 cup of almonds

Fistful of walnuts (optional)

1 cup rolled Oats (powdered after measuring)

1 cup grated jaggery or karupatti or coconut palm sugar (adjust it can go up to 1.5 cups, depends on what you are using)

¼ tsp green cardamom powder.

1 tbsp ghee or oil

few nuts to garnish

Method

1.   Soak all the nuts separately, in lot of water for 6 hrs.

2.   Drain and use ice cold water and grind to a smooth paste, try to use as little water as possible, the more water you use, the longer you will have to cook, meaning a loss in the nutrients due to overcooking.

3.   Heat a pan with ghee or oil, add this nut paste and begin to cook on a medium flame for 3 to 4 mins

4.   Add the jaggery and cook till all the moisture evaporates and becomes dry. refer the pics

5.   Add powdered oats to this. mix well and continue to cook till the mixture looks dry, this takes only 2 to 3 mins. Do not cook longer else the halwa  becomes sticky. Add a tsp of ghee to prevent it looking dry

6.   If you wish you can grease a tray and transfer this to the tray and spread it evenly. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hrs and cut to pieces.  It is not a burfi but a soft set halwa.

indian oats recipe

Tips: keeps good for about a week if refrigerated

Note: ice water has been used to keep the nut paste cool while grinding, if you grind it continuously with room temp water, the paste can become hot and the taste varies