Receta Pumpkin & Banana Fudge – A Healthy & Delightful Festive Treat
What Christmas is to any westerner Diwali is to all Indians. Fun, frolic and sweets galore is what Christmas & ‘festival of lights – Diwali‘ bring forth! A week’s time is what is left for Diwali and I could already smell the earthy aromas of melting jaggery, fragrance of cardamom and spices emanating from every direction of my house. Yes everyone in the neighborhood is busy preparing the traditional sweets and savories before time so that they can share the same with others on the festival day.
First half of my life was spent celebrating Diwali the North Indian way and the second half after my marriage is being spent in South India. Diwali starts late evening in most of India by lighting & decorating every corner of house with small earthen lamps and bursting crackers. While it starts before dawn in South India with a ritual sacred bath, prayers, gifting new cloths to family members, eating sweets and then bursting crackers. I like the stark differences of customs and traditions people follow to celebrate the same festival all over India.
Cashew fudge or Kaju Katli and chickpea flour fudge or Besan Burfi are the two most common fudges prepared every year in my house. Mom makes Pumpkin fudge occasionally and we all love to indulge in this melt-in-mouth sweet. I prepared the same for the festival this year with a little changes to suit my palate. I added banana to the pumpkin to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.
Simple, healthy and extremely scrumptious these Pumpkin & Banana Fudge are soft and have melt-in-mouth texture, except those bits of almond pieces which give the occasional crunch to this fudge recipe.
Ingredients;
(makes 12 medium pieces)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup mashed banana
- 2 tbsp. condensed milk
- 1 tbsp. cornflour/arrowroot powder
- 1 tbsp. clarified butter or ghee
- 2 tbsp. sugar (optional)
- 2 tbsp. almonds
- 1 tsp. cardamom powder
Method; Peel 200 gms of pumpkin and cut into small cubes. Steam the pumpkin pieces in a pressure cooker with very little water or bake the cubes at 190°C for 30 minutes on an aluminum rack. Cool and puree in a blender, it should make about a cup.
Peel a large banana and mash it or puree along with the pumpkin cubes. Slightly grind the almonds into coarse powder.
Heat a thick bottom wok/kadai and add the clarified butter or ghee, cornflour/arrowroot powder and the crushed almonds in it. Fry for a few seconds and add pumpkin and banana puree in it. cook at medium heat for 15 minutes taking care to stir the mixture at regular intervals, else it will get stuck to the bottom and get burnt easily.
Add condensed milk, cardamom powder and keep cooking for another 10 minutes. The mixture should become a solid mass by now and start leaving the sides of the wok. If it does not, cook for a few more minutes till it thickens and make a ball of fudge.
Make sure that the fudge has reached to almost hard ball consistency so that it could be sliced into perfect squares.
Grease a square or rectangular baking tray or any plate and spread the hot mixture on to it. Flatten the fudge by pressing lightly with the back of a spoon. Let it cool completely for 3-4 hours before slicking it.
The fudge will come out slightly softer since it has veggies & fruits in it and lack marshmallow creme which helps to set the fudge hard. A few recipe links are given at the end of the post for making the same.
This Pumpkin & banana fudge, delightful & healthy…well almost could be packed and shared with your family and friends during the festival.
Notes;
Since the recipe has banana, the fudge comes out as golden brown color (oxidation).
This fudge is made with fresh veggie & fruit puree without any cream or marshmallows and will be slightly softer than the normal pumpkin fudges.
I did not puree pumpkin too fine, as I wanted to get the real taste of the veggies in my fudge.
Stays good for over a weak.
Make sure that the bananas are ripe and sweet.
Some of the Pumpkin Fudges from the blogospheres to try out, if you want to indulge in real creamy and rich treat!
Pumpkin fudge from Browneyed Bakers
Pumpkin Fudge from Recipe girl
Stay safe and have a prosperous and healthy Diwali with loads of fun and sweets!