Sweet Potato Halwa (Indian Sweet Potato Pudding)
Shakarkandi ka halwa: mashed sweet potato roasted down in ghee with sugar, saffron, cardamom, and fried nuts until it turns glossy and pulls away from the pan.
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
For the Halwa
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes about 4 medium, cooked whole in their skins
- 6 tablespoons ghee divided, plus more for serving
- ¾ cup sugar or ¾ cup grated jaggery
- ¼ cup besan (gram flour) optional, omit for a fasting day
- ½ teaspoon green cardamom freshly ground, from about 10 pods
- 1 pinch saffron threads bloomed in 2 tablespoons warm water or milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt sendha namak for a fasting day
- ¼ cup water as needed
For the Nuts and Garnish
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
- 1 tablespoon pistachios chopped, for the top
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins optional
Instructions
Cook the Sweet Potatoes
- Boil or pressure cook the sweet potatoes whole in their skins until a knife slides in with no resistance, about 25 minutes boiled or 12 minutes pressure cooked. Cool slightly, slip off the skins, and mash with a fork or masher until mostly smooth with a little texture left. Do not use a blender.
- Steep the saffron in 2 tablespoons of warm water or milk and set aside.
Fry the Nuts
- Warm 2 tablespoons of the ghee in a heavy pan over medium heat. Fry the cashews and almonds until pale gold, about 2 minutes, and lift them out.
- Add the raisins to the same ghee and remove them as soon as they puff.
Roast, Sweeten, and Finish
- Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of ghee to the pan. If using besan, stir it in and toast 2 minutes until it smells nutty.
- Add the mashed sweet potato and salt. Stir steadily over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mash deepens in color and turns glossy. Add a splash of water only if it looks stiff.
- Stir in the sugar or jaggery, off the boil if using jaggery, and cook 8 to 10 minutes more. It will loosen, then tighten again.
- Stir in the bloomed saffron with its liquid. Cook until a spoon dragged through the middle leaves a track that holds for a second and the pan sides come away clean.
- Off the heat, stir in the ground cardamom and most of the fried nuts and raisins. Serve warm, topped with the pistachios and remaining nuts.
Notes
- The gloss is ghee, not cream: this halwa needs no dairy at all, which is why it suits fasting days.
- Cook the potatoes in their skins: peeled and cubed potatoes take on water and give a loose halwa.
- Cardamom off the heat: its aroma is volatile and a hot pan drives it off.
- Jaggery goes in low and slow: dropped into a hot pan it seizes into lumps.
- Storage: 1 week refrigerated, 1 month frozen. Reheat in a pan with a teaspoon of ghee.