Happy Navratri! Today is the first day of the nine days that are spent in prayer, contemplation, and celebrating women.

Last year during Navratri, I wanted to make a different sweet each day as an offering to the Goddess. One of the days, when I didn’t know what to make and had some boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes in the fridge, I made this recipe which I found online. Usually only made from potatoes, I added sweet potatoes to the mix and the result was a super delicious halwa, which nobody could believe was made from potatoes!

This recipe is slightly heavier during the summer months because of the carb and starch content in the potatoes and so is apt for winters. Also, because it is heavy, you can make it if you are fasting as potatoes are the quintessential fasting vegetable.

Potato Halwa

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized potatoes, boiled, peeled, and mashed
• 1 medium-sized sweet potato, boiled, peeled, and mashed
• ½ cup milk
• 1/3 to ½ cup sugar according to taste
• ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
• 4 tbsp ghee
• A generous pinch of saffron
• 2 tbsp chopped mixed nuts like cashews, almonds, and pistachios
• 1 tsp raisins

Method:

• Take the saffron in a small bowl and add 1 tbsp warm milk to it let the saffron dissolve. You may need to stir it a bit or even cook it in the microwave in 30-second increments.
• In a small pan, with 1 tsp ghee, fry the mixed nuts and raisins and keep aside. You can also dry roast them as I did to make the recipe slightly healthy. Keep aside.
• Heat ghee in a pan and when the ghee heats up, add the mashed potatoes.
• Sauté on low heat for about 5-6 minutes until the potatoes start to change in colour and start becoming golden brown.
• Add in the milk, sugar, cardamom powder and saffron and mix well to combine. The sugar will start to melt and the mixture becomes watery. Make sure you stir well that there are no lumps in this mixture.
• Stir continuously until the halwa turns dry again and the ghee starts oozing out.
• Add half the chopped nuts and raisins and mix well.
• Cook for another minute and switch off the flame.
• Serve warm garnished with the remaining nuts and raisins.
• This dish is best served warm, so if you are planning to make it ahead of time, just warm it in the microwave or the stove and serve.