Happy New Year, and hopefully a better year ahead! Though, with a surge of Covid-19 cases in Bangkok, and the current soft lockdown, it’s back to indoor activities for me.  

Anyhow, let us begin this year with some healthy, sweet and pretty looking beetroot halwa rings with almond filling.

Ingredients for halwa :

1. Beetroot – 1 large,  grated
2. Carrots – 2 large, grated
3. Whole milk 1/2 litre 
4. Sugar 1/3 cup
5. Ghee 1 table spoon
6. Green cardamom powder 1/2 tsp 

 Ingredients for filling :

1. Almond flour 2 cups full
2. Powdered sugar 1/3 cup
3. Rose water 2 tsp
4. Water to knead 

Method:

1. Take a large pan with milk on high flame. To this add the grated carrots and beetroot. Reduce the flame once it comes to a boil and allow the milk and juices to almost dry up, stirring occasionally. 
2. Add the sugar, and cook till all the liquid dries up. Turn off the flame and sprinkle cardamom powder along with ghee. Mix it well and keep it aside to cool completely.
3. While that happens, take the almond flour in a different dish. To this add the powdered sugar and rose water. Using little water at a time, knead into a tight dough. 
4. Now take a sheet of butter paper and spread it over a chopping board. Spread the beetroot halwa over the butter paper using a spatula, flattening it out in a rectangular shape about 1 cm in thickness. I have placed this over a chopping board already so it’s easy to move it into the freezer for 30 mins .
5. Now take the almond flour and roll it out into a single log about as long as the length of the halwa rectangle. Place it gently onto a plate and also keep in the freezer for about 30 mins.
6. After 30 mins take both out. Carefully place the almond log in the centre of the halwa. Lift the butter paper with halwa gently and roll it over the almond log, all the way, so that the almond log is in the centre and halwa covers it from all sides as evenly and tightly as possible. 
7. Place in the freezer for about an hour again. This will help it set well before we cut it out into discs.
8. Be careful while cutting it into about an inch thick discs. Keep a tissue handy to clean the knife before each cut, so that the beetroot colour does not run over the cream coloured almond filling.

Serve Chilled.