Pumpkin Halwa | Kaddu Ka Halwa

Updated: August 19, 2022, By Swasthi

Pumpkin Halwa also known as Kaddu Ka Halwa is an Indian halwa variety made with pumpkin, milk and sugar. It is usually prepared during festivals or the season when pumpkins are flooded in the market. There are a lot of recipes in Indian cuisine that uses pumpkin. Like it is added to the curries, stews, sambar and stir fry dishes. Pumpkin halwa is not a traditional Indian dish but it had been featured in a lot of televisions shows & magazines.

pumpkin halwa aka kaddu ka halwa



This pumpkin halwa or kaddu ka halwa is simple to make. It needs only few ingredients and gets done under 20 minutes.

I have mentioned 2 options to use pumpkin: grated or pressure cooked. Halwa made using grated pumpkin retains most nutrients as it is lightly cooked and only for a while.

However it is a matter of convenience. If you find it hard to grate, go for the other option mentioned in the step by steps.

Pumpkin halwa tastes light, delicious and can be served as a good after meal dessert or an evening snack. I have used a golden pumpkin. Sometimes I also add khoya/mawa to make this pumpkin halwa. It tastes great and rich, a special sweet that can be made during festivals.

You can also make a kasi halwa using this recipe. Kasi halwa is made using white pumpkin and no milk is used.

pumpkin swasthis recipes
pumpkin halwa recipe made with kaddu

More halwa recipes
badam halwa
papaya halwa
moong dal halwa
gajar ka halwa

Photo Guide

How to Make Pumpkin Halwa (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. There are 2 options to use pumpkin, choose one of them. Wash pumpkin, cut to half.

  • a. Pressure cook halved pumpkin without peeling for one whistle by placing in a bowl inside the cooker. Once the pressure cools down, scoop off the pumpkin flesh and discard the skin. Or
  • b. Peel the pumpkin and then grate it. A food processor does the job easily.
pressure cooking veggies to make kaddu ka halwa step 1

Fry nuts & sauté Pumpkin

2. Heat a pan with ghee (or coconut oil), add chopped cashews and fry till lightly golden. Set aside.

frying nuts in ghee to make pumpkin halwa

3. Add the pumpkin in any form grated or cooked and scooped. I have used grated pumpkin. Fry the pumpkin for 4 to 5 minutes in ghee. The raw smell should go away.

sauting cooked pulp for pumpkin halwa kaddu ka halwa

Make Kaddu ka Halwa

4. If you do not want to use milk, just skip this step. Pour the milk and cardamom powder. Allow it to absorb the milk. Do not use water, it will dilute the taste of the halwa. If you do not want to use milk just skip it.

adding milk to pan to cook pumpkin halwa

5. Add sugar and stir. Moisture begins to release.

addition of sugar to pan for making pumpkin halwa

6. Keep stirring till the halwa thickens.

thick cooked ready pumpkin halwa kaddu ka halwa

Garnish with fried cashews.

garnish kaddu ka halwa with nuts raisins

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

pumpkin halwa recipe

Pumpkin Halwa | Kaddu Ka Halwa

4.98 from 40 votes
Pumpkin Halwa is a delicious Indian sweet dish made with golden pumpkin, sugar, ghee and nuts.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Servings3
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 2 cups pumpkin grated or ½ kg
  • ¼ cup sugar + 1 to 2 tbsp. (adjust slightly)
  • cashews or pistachios chopped, Few
  • 1 to 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1 pinch cardamom powder
  • ¼ cup milk (optional)


Instructions

Preparation

  • Rinse pumpkin and cut to two.
  • Peel the skin and grate it or steam cook the entire pumpkin until soft.

How to make Pumpkin Halwa

  • Add ghee or coconut oil to a hot pan and fry the nuts till golden. Keep them side.
  • To the same pan, add grated pumpkin or cooked pumpkin (refer image step by step one). Fry for about 4 to 5 minutes till the raw smell goes off.
  • Pour the milk if using and add cardamom powder. Cook until the milk is absorbed.
  • Add sugar and cook till the sugar melts and the halwa thickens.
  • Add fried cashews and garnish. Serve pumpkin halwa hot or warm.


Notes

Do not use water to cook the pumpkin, it will dilute the taste. Use milk or just use sugar directly after sauting pumpkin in ghee

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Pumpkin Halwa | Kaddu Ka Halwa
Amount Per Serving
Calories 128 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 12mg4%
Sodium 1mg0%
Potassium 262mg7%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Sugar 18g20%
Vitamin A 6585IU132%
Vitamin C 6.9mg8%
Calcium 16mg2%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Hi Swasti, Can orange sugar pumpkin be substituted for golden pumpkin in this halwa recipe?

Hi….. Green pumpkin will be good or not…. Also can I use jaggery instead of sugar…. Please help

Thanks for sharing this recipe. I cooked the halwa dish but not sure about the consistency. It stayed a bit wobbly. Is this how it should be?
Thanks

5 stars
Very sweet and tasty resipy cooked easily so nice and thanks for share the recipe with us

5 stars
Awesome site ..I love cooking ,specially ur dishes ..it’ll b very yummy …but I wanna know d method of doing white pumpkin halwa …i searched many times …

Awesome swasthi it’s too cool and easy to make I love bengali sweets so here I’m ready with it by thank you so much. ????

Thanks for share for recipe

4 stars
Very good and nice recipe to prepare Pumpkin (Kaddu/Kumro)halwa.