Recipe: Bethica's Tasty Tomato Halwa

"Hyderabadi-style Shahjahani Meetha is a lost recipe," says Sharjah-based food blogger Bethica Das, "and it was very popular during the days of the Mughals."

A unique and delicious halwa, prepared with tomatoes as the main ingredient, the sweet dish is not much heard of these days, she explains.

It can be a quick-fix dessert because its recipe is very easy and simple with few ingredients. Using store-bought khoya makes producing it a "jiffy".

To get the rich red colour, Bethica added some beetroot puree instead of food colour.

She suggests serving the halwa up at a dinner or a special gathering and play a guessing game on its core ingredient.

Bethica is a connoisseur of all types of cuisines, always experimenting and coming up with novel takes on classics, be it idlis made from Manipur's black rice or Bhutte Ka Kees, a savoury corn upma.

Shahjahani Meetha

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 500 gm ripe tomatoes
• ¼ cup icing sugar or powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ghee
• ¼ tsp green elaichi or cardamom powder
• 100 gm khoya or mava or milk solids
• 2 tbsp beetroot puree
• 2 tbsp mixed chopped nuts like almonds, cashews, pistachios

Method

• Make cross slits on the tomatoes and boil in saucepan with enough water for 10-12 minutes over high heat.
  Keep aside to cool.
  Peel.
  Transfer the tomatoes to a saucepan or a kadhai and puree well with a potato masher.
  Add the powdered sugar and the ghee and mix well.
• Simmer over low heat till it thickens slightly.
  Keep stirring to prevent the halwa from getting burnt at the bottom.
  Now add the cardamom powder, beetroot puree, khoya.
  Mix and add 1 tbsp of the chopped nuts.
  Continue to simmer till all the moisture evaporates and the halwa becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan.
  Take off heat and garnish with the remaining 1 tbsp chopped nuts. 
• Keep aside to cool before refrigerating.
  Serve chilled.

Bethica Das is a Sharjah-based food blogger. Please do check out her recipes here

• REDIFF FOOD