Custard powder halwa

I always have some leftover custard powder at home. What usually happens is, it sits in the kitchen cabinet without any use and then finds its way to the garbage bin. But this time, I was determined to find a way to finish it. Off to google.com and I came across halwa recipes using custard powder. My first reaction was 'What? Halwa! and that too with custard powder. Seriously!.'  

Now to the fun part.

I took it to work and asked my friends to guess the ingredient in the halwa. They came up with pappaya, carrot, mango, pineapple and even pumpkin. And the expression on their faces when I revealed it was custard powder was priceless...lol.

The colour is bright orange and the texture is smooth. It is so easy to cut. Believe me, there is no need to add any food colour.

This is one dessert recipe which can be prepared in no time if you have all the ingredients at home. It is definitely a keeper for those days when you have a party at home and you have prepared everything but not the dessert.

My recipe here is a combination of a lot of recipes on the net.

Ingredients

1. Custard powder - 1 cup

2. Sugar - 2 cups

3. Water - 2 cups

4. Ghee - 6 tbsp

5. Vanilla essence - 3 drops

6. Cashew nuts - 5 (chopped)

Method:

In a deep non-stick pan, add the ghee and fry the cashews. The pan should be on medium flame. Once the cashews are softened, lower the flame to a sim and add the custard powder. Fry it for about 20 seconds, then add the sugar, vanilla essence and water. Mix really well (without any clumps). Now bring the flame back on medium and keep stirring. In a few minutes, the mixture will start to thicken and turn glassy. Keep stirring till it thickens and it is a big blob of gooey halwa [approximately 10 minutes]. Dump it into a greased cake tin and level it with a greased spoon. Let it cool down completely. 

Cut it in the shape of your choice. 

This will stay good for a week if kept in the refrigerator.

Notes:

* Non-stick pan is best for this recipe

* Using less amount of ghee and sugar will affect the richness of the halwa.