Mix Vegetable Vegan Halwa with Bottle gourd, Carrots and Chioggia Beets. {Indian Vegan Dessert with vegetables.}

Indian sweet "Halwa"  can be prepared with different flours, Dals, Nuts, Fruits and vegetables. Today I am sharing  recipe of Halwa made with three vegetables. I had  one organic Chioggia beet, few locally grown tender carrots in the refrigerator, quantity was not sufficient to make three servings of Halwa so  I added one  Lauki / Dudhi  and made  this Three vegetable Halwa. I skipped adding milk , used  extra virgin coconut oil so it turned  vegan halwa. For rich taste and additional nutrition I added coarse ground  almond meal and Hemp hearts. After cooking bright natural color of vegetable was  lost but Halwa tasted  absolutely delicious.

 Halwa Ingredients : (3 servings of Halwa)

• 1 Dudhi / Bottlegourd / Lauki - grated, yield 2.5 cup tightly packed.
• 1 Chioggia Beetroot - grated -(yield 1 cup tightly packed) regular beets can be used.
• 8-10 young  carrots - grated - (yield 1 cup tightly packed) use any type of carrots.
• 5-6 Tb.spoon - extra virgin coconut oil (I used Carrington Farms from costco.)
• 5 Tb.spoon - Hemp hearts (raw shelled hemp seeds.)
• 1/4 Cup- coarse ground almond powder
• 4-5 Cardamom - finely ground seeds
• 3 Tb.spoon - Golden raisins
• 4 Tb.spoon - slivered almonds
• 3/4 cup sugar - extra 3-4 Tb.spoon for  more sweetness.

Lauki , Gajar and Chioggia Beet.

Grated Beetroot, Carrots and Dudhi.

Method of making Mix vegetable Halwa.

1. Cut both the ends of Bottle gourd, peel the skin. Keep the seeds if they are extra tender. If seeds are grown then remove inner seed portion. Grate by using grater as shown in the image or use food processor. Keep it aside. (Bitter tasting bottle gourd  should not be consumed due to its  toxic properties.)
2. I used organic locally grown carrots so didn't peel the skin but thoroughly washed it under running water by rubbing the skin to get rid of soil. Grate it by using grater or use food processor. Peel the skin if you are using regular carrots.
3. For Chioggia beets I  partially peeled the skin from rough root grown portion. Don't peel off clean dark pink skin. Grate and keep aside.
4. Gently squeeze juice from grated veggies. Do not squeeze out all juice, one or two times gentle hand squeeze is enough. I got around half cup juice, drink it up or use it  in cooking.
5. In a small saute pan heat 1 tbsp coconut oil, add golden raisins in two batches, stir fry by stirring continuously until raisins swell to round shape and turn light brown. Keep heat low to avoid burning. Drain over paper towel. Next add little more coconut oil in the same pan, fry slivered almonds until light brown. Drain on paper towel.
6. Heat 3 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil in a heavy gauge pot. I took 4 quart hard anodized pot. Add all grated vegetables, cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring often. Add powdered cardamom seeds when you are half way through cooking process. If mixture gets too dry spray some water to retain moisture.
7. Now add 1/4 cup coarse ground almond powder, mix well, cook for five minutes, stirring often.
8. Next add 3/4 cup sugar, once sugar melts, veggie mixture will turn loose in texture, continue to cook until mixture forms thick pulp like texture. Taste sweetness, if required add 3-4 tbs more sugar.
9. Now add 5 tbsp hemp hearts (optional) and 2 tbsp coconut oil, mix well, continue to cook for 6-7 minutes or until mixture achieves your desired halwa texture. Add fried raisins and slivered almonds, mix well. (save few for final garnish) Let it cool down completely before serving. You can serve in a bowl or shape in your choice of moulds.