May 10, 2011

Parwal Ki Mithai


This used to be my favorite Indian sweet. It still is but I haven't had it in years. Looking at the parwals [ pointed gourd ]in the market, I was immediately taken  back to my childhood, when we used to wait for summers to arrive so that we could get this mithai /sweet. Our small little town had only one good quality sweet shop "Ambar" then, and only that shop used to make this mithai. So, many a times we would land up at Ambar only to find out that parwal ki mithahi was already over. It was such a popular item in our town.
After having moved out to Delhi for my further studies, I still craved for this.Though,Delhi has a great sweets culture, this mithai was not available there. It was one such craving that I made this mithai for the first time. It tasted good, but it didn't acquire the same colour as "Ambar shop". It was pale green. I don't think I even had a recipe, I made it the way I thought it could be made. This time around, I wanted the colour to be right too. So, I followed Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe, the image of which was closest to the Ambar Shop's mithai. He has used a pinch of baking soda to get the colour, which really worked. The only thing I found a bit of problem was to check if the parwals were done. No timing is mentioned in the recipe, so when I took out after 10 minutes, it was already sligthly overdone. So,I guess next time I make,I need to taste them at regular intervals to see that it is exactly done. It should be anywhere near 5-8 mins..


So here is the recipe of Parwal ki mithai which comes from Benaras, but is very popular in Bihar.


Ingredients
[Recipe :Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor ]
250 grams Parwals [Pointed Gourd] , Fresh and big
A pinch of Baking Soda
1 cup: Mawa (khoya)  : How to make Khoya
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1/4 tsp Green cardamom powder
10 Almonds, chopped
10 Pistachios, chopped
1 cup Water

Preparation

  1. Wash and peel the parwal's outer layer so that you can see the white-greenish layer.  Don't worry, this white will turn green when you boil it in steps ahead. Make a slit lengthwise ,so it is open from one side and attached from all other sides. Remove all the seeds from inside.keep aside.
  2. For the stuffing, In a pan roast the khoya on medium heat till it becomes soft. Add half cup sugar and continue to roast till it is dryish.[ You can reduce the quantity of sugar here according to your taste].Add green cardamom powder and mix. Take it off the heat and add almonds and pistachios and mix. Transfer the mixture onto a plate and cool
  3. In another pan boil 1 cup sugar with one cup water to make a thin sugar syrup of 1 thread  consistency.If you are familiar with another method of making syrup of 1 thread consistency follow that, as at many sites I found 1: 1/2 ratio of sugar and water. I followed  a middle path.
  4.  In another pan, heat water, add a pinch of baking  soda. Add parwals and boil for two to three minutes. 
  5. Drain and put them in the sugar syrup and cook till they soften. It will take around 8-10 minutes. Drain and cool.
  6. Stuff them with the khoya mixture. Sprinkle some slivered almonds and pistachio on top.
  7. Refrigerate for few hours and serve chilled. Can be stored for a couple of days in refrigerator.




Sending it to Aipi and Priya's Bookmark Event .

Sending this to Event celebrate sweets-stuffed sweets.



16 comments:

Nisha said...

New for me , loved the color and recipe

Shylaja said...

Interesting recipe.New to me.Will try this
South Indian Home

aipi said...

Whoa! Parwali ~ lots of memories got refreshed! Me not a big fan but hubby totally loves it. Have been thinking for quite a while to make it , in fact I too have bookmarked the same recipe :)
You made it beautifully , the green color looks fabulous!Thanks a lot for linking to bookmarked event :)
US Masala

Deeksha said...

Delicious! Never tried at home. I liked your recipe. Thanks for sharing dear.

Priya Suresh said...

Wow completely new for me, looks cute,attractive and elegant..

Prathima Rao said...

Interesting & very new to me...Got to try this out soon!!
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner

Suja Manoj said...

Interesting recipe,looks so attractive,yummy

Raji said...

WOW..this is a unique recipe...love the green colour of the parwals with white stuffing..bookmarking this.

SinFoodie said...

A big thank you to everyone for your beautiful comments :)

This recipe has stirred up lots of memories for my other friends too who are not on blogger. This mithai is a big favourite of almost everyone who has ever tasted it :)

Unknown said...

I've only had these as a spicy preparations ... this is a wonderful new dish introduced. I was also going to say, I am from New Delhi, have done the rounds of Bengali Market and Haldirams but never seen this! LOVE It!

Unknown said...

I have seen them in mithai ki dukan, but never had (was always skeptical), They look so bright and colorful :)

Unknown said...

omething new to me.looks gorgeous.love the mithai.

Richa Rai said...

:-) veryyy nice... sushmita rai.. mooh mein paani aa gaya...

Magic of Spice said...

I have never had or seen this before...it looks and sounds wonderful!

Vardhini said...

I have never used parwal. Looks so yummy and delicious.

Following you to keep in touch :)

Do visit me as time permits and hope you would follow me too !!

Vardhini
VardhinisKitchen

Anisha said...

Wow... I never knew there are mithais made of Parwal. I have got to try this one.

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