The Magical Ingredients for a Wholesome Life From the Heart of my Home: Vegan Pumpkin Halwa

This is a perfect fall dessert made with a few ingreadients. This vegan halwa is a perfect one to entertain this fall or for Thanksgiving. Did I say that this can be made ahead making Holiday meal planning a breeze.

The shredded pumpkin is cooked in coconut milk, and the sugar is added. This is then cooked with a little oil till it comes around as halwa. Nuts are added as garnishes. The halwa is unbelieveably tasty and addictive. This is a perfect dessert for vegan guests.

As said earlier, this is great make ahead dessert. This stays amazing for 4-5 days withour refrigeration and more than a week, when refrigerated. Reheat in microwave for a couple of minutes and is all ready to be served. Isn't it a winner?

If you are wondering what to do with pumpkin, just go ahead and try this recipe. It is guaranteed that you will make this addictive dessert very often. This vegan halwa is made with pumpkin, cocnut milk, coconut oil, sugar, cardamom, almonds and cranberries. I have had Muscoth Halwa which is made using cocnut milk and is my favorite one. This halwa too reminds similar taste tones as it uses coconut milk to cook the pumpkins. I will not recommend changing to any other milk, as this coconut milk helps in giving this unique flavor to this dessert. Pumpkins and coconut are a perfect pair and this halwa can vouch for that. This does require some stirring but easily can be finished in 30 minutes making it a great option.

Holidays are around the corner and to plan a perfect party or gettogethers, menu planning is very important. Make ahead meals are a great way to make arrangements for perfect enetrtaining. Christie is hosting a "Make Ahead Holiday Meals' in our #ourfamilytable and I am linking this recipe to the same. We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you're at it, join our Pinterest board, too!

Here are a few halwas that are great make ahead desserts/sweets:

Wintermelon Halwa/ Kasi Halwa/ Dumroot - This is a classic halwa made with Ash Gourd which is even served in weddings.

Yellow Pumpkin Halwa - Another delicious one made using yellow colored flesh pumpkins like Amir Pumpkin

Carrot Halwa - A popular and traditional halwa.

Whole Wheat Halwa - This is a traditional halwa madeby extracting milk from whole wheat and cooking it down, a little tedious but ultimate and worth all the effort.

Apart from the amazing desserts that can be made with pumpkins, they are an amazing ingredient in any course of the meal. They make great appetizers and this Spicy Pumpkin Soup is a delicious and creamy one without any cream. They are great in many breakfast/snack items like Tangzhong Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns, Pumpkin, Paneer, and Cranberry Rolls, Pumpkin, Pecan, and Cinnamon Chip Muffins. Curries are amazing and rich in flavor when pumpkins are added. Pumpkin Pie Spiced Vegan Pumpkin Curry and Pumpkin Curry/Kootu are sure enough a part of any comfort meal.

Ingredients

Pumpkin - 3 cups, grated

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Coconut oil - 3 to 4 tbsp

Cardamom - 1, crushed

Almond slices - 2 tbsp

Dried cranberries - 1 tbsp

Method

Cook the shredded pumkin and coconut milk in a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pan for about 4-5 minutes, till the pumpkins are tender.

Add the sugar and cardamom and cook for another 4-5 minutes. It will become a little watery after adding sugar.

Once the liquid has reduced by more than fifty percent, add the almond flour and mix without any lumps. Continue cooking.

Add about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and cook. This can be added in two or three steps. In about 18-20 minutes, the mixture would have come to mass that will not stick to the pan. This is the perfect stage for halwa. Switch off the flame. This continue to thicken further while cooling.

Heat a tablespoon oil in a pan. Add the almond flakes and cranberries and fry for 1-2 minutes until the almond slices are golden and the cranberries become plump.