Pumpkin and festivities. How does Pumpkin fudge sound, for this Deepavali?
In the last few days we have seen a variety of dishes involving pumpkin. One of the most widely celebrated Indian festivals, the festival of colours and lights – Deepavali is just round the corner. There is nothing like being in India at this time of the year. Colourful streets with ever smiling and inviting street vendors (who, inspite of facing a tough competition for their livelihood by the malls and retail chain stores, don’t forget to flash beautiful smiles) offering every passing prospective customer their colourful products at the best possible price, the crowd, the scent of the fresh flowers from the traditional markets, the drooling sweets and savouries from traditional sweet meat stalls, Deepavali shopping, and the list simply goes on.
In India, around this time of the year, any office for that matter, distributes sweets, snacks and dry fruits, be it in small sachets or in a big box to all its employees. Neighbours, irrespective of the religion, region or culture, come closer to celebrate this festival.
One just cannot imagine Deepavali without sweets. Not just one, but many of them!!! There are some sweets which are traditionally prepared during this festival, but there is certainly no end to creativity. One can find sweets of all shapes, sizes, colours and tastes in shops, homes and restaurants and of course over the social media.
Season of pumpkin, Deepavali, with chickpea flour and pumpkin in stock – all set to prepare the yummilicious Pumpkin Burfi / Pumkin fudge!!!
This sweet dessert is suitable for all occasions with the goodness of pumpkin and chickpea flour in it.
Pumpkin is not completely mashed, but grated and roughly fried. Grated pumpkin along with the desiccated coconut brings in the crunchiness to the mouth-watering burfi / fudge. Ghee brings in the rich flavour and aroma to it. The more the ghee, the better and butterier it gets. You can certainly increase the quantity of ghee here in the below recipe if you wish.
Easy to prepare and yummy to taste. PumpkinBurfi/Pumpkin Fudge – This Deepevali, VeggiePotnPan style !!!
Few other pumpkin dishes that might interest you :
Few other desserts for Deepavali / Diwali :
And more
Wishing all my dear friends, a very Happy Deepavali!
Total Time: 70 minutes
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Cooling Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 30 to 40 pieces
Ingredients:
Chickpea flour: 2 cups
Grated pumpkin: 1.5 cups
Desiccated coconut: 0.75 cup
Ghee: 1 cup
Brown Sugar: 2 cups
Milk: 1 cup
Cardamom powder: 1 tsp.
Salt : A pinch
Quick Video :
Method:
- Grease a tray and keep it aside
- Sieve the chickpea flour and keep aside
- In a thick bottomed pan, roast the chickpea flour over medium heat until the raw smell of the flour goes off (For about 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat). Keep aside
- In the same pan, add the grated pumpkin and saute until the raw smell goes off
- Now add the dessicated coconut, chickpea flour, sugar, milk, ghee and stir continuously ensuring that no lumps are formed
- Continue heating over medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken (this took me about 15 to 20 minutes approximately). Around the same time, the ghee starts leaving on the sides. Now is the time to add cardamom powder and mix well. Add a pinch of salt
- Remove from heat and transfer to the greased plate and flatten it. Carefully mark the fudge using a knife or a pizza cutter . Top it with some chopped / sliced almonds and let it cool
- Once cooled, you may even transfer the plate to the refrigerator for a few minutes before cutting it
- Once ready, carefully cut / shape it and consume / serve fresh. You may refrigerate it for upto a week and relish
Note:
- Sieving the chickpea flour before using it ensures a lump free fudge
- Grated pumpkin: A ripe pumpkin is all that we need here. Remove the outer layer of the pumpkin. Remove the inner seeds and keep aside. Using a hand grater or a food processor, grate the pumpkin and it is ready to use.
- You can wash, salt and bake the pumpkin seeds which can easily be a movie companion. You can alternatively sun dry it, dehusk and use the pumpkin seeds to top up your bakes, be it cakes or cookies
- Once cool, if you feel, it is sticky and not shaping out, don’t worry, refrigerate it for a while and then cut and shape them
Pumpkin fudge stories:
This Deepavali, the one thing that I wanted to use in the preparation of sweets / desserts was – Pumpkin!!! Pumpkin payasa was a quicker option, but I wanted to prepare something which can be served in pieces and preserved for a week. All I could think of, was burfi !!! Thus came the dessert – Pumpkin fudge / Pumpkin burfi.
Deepavali brings in fond memories. Celebrating with cousins, friends, family, food, sweets and of course, fire crackers !!!
The unforgettable ones are easily from our National Games Village days in Bangalore, where mom used to invite all cousins, in and around, for dinner (now I understand, how much planning she had to do, the cooking that had to take care of a small gathering, cleaning and the like). A small gathering at home, new clothes, sweet exchanges, a lavish dinner followed by the most awaited time – the fire crackers, summed up the evening almost every year. Last year, our little daughter, too joined the league, playing the safe Deepavali, with fire crackers, illuminations, the traditional earthern pot diyas and new clothes.
After our fire cracker sessions, we would clean up the mess created, so that the street cleaners are not troubled the next day. After this, I would spend time, looking at the colourful sky, admiring the many beautiful firecrackers in action.
Ahead of Deepavali, I always loved visiting traditional markets, be it in Kanpur, or in Bangalore. During Deepawali, it is not the shopping in itself, but the simple stroll taken through colourful, well lit streets displaying the rich tradition, culture and brotherhood that brings in so much of joy. I remember me and my sister fighting with each other for our turns to draw Rangoli on festive days in front of our house, as it is the time when we could display our art with colourful designs and creations. As a mark of encouragement, we always purchased the Rangoli powder, the earthern lamps, flowers and all related things from small, street side vendors than bigger establishments.
Leave a Reply