Baked Fig Halwa

This was one seriously gorgeous looking dessert I had seen in the magazine Bangalore Food Lovers some time back. Bangalore foodies- Do definitely check out this magazine if you haven't yet. Its got restaurant reviews, recipes and gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous food pictures. Awesome eye candy for any foodie.

 

I love figs, both fresh and dried, and this was one to be definitely tried. My mother-in-law had sent lots of fresh figs from Bellary and here came my opportunity to try out Baked Fig Halwa. The halwa tasted great topped with the reduced milk and hubby loved the dessert. Now on to the recipe..



Ingredients:
Fresh figs - 400 grams
Sugar - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Almond Flakes - 3 tsp
Ghee -1 tbsp
Milk 1/2 ltr
Pistachios, blanched, peeled and sliced - 4 tsp
Green cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Method: Boil the milk and 1 tbsp sugar till the milk is reduced to less than half the original consistency. It should be very thick as it should not flow on to the sides of the dish(like mine did). Peel and mash the figs. Choose figs which are just about ripe or you will end up with a very gooey mass when u mash them.

In a saucepan, cook the ghee and the mashed figs for five minutes. To this, add the 2 tablespoons sugar( vary according to the sweetness of figs and your taste), green cardamom powder and cook for a few more minutes. Add the almond flakes, pistachios and take the halwa off the fire. The color of the halwa refused to look as good as it did in the magazine, so I added some food color. But the color turned a deeper shade when baked.

Portion the cooked figs in individual oven proof bowls(Choose a wide bowl to put the halwa in for better visual appeal) and top with a little of the reduced milk. Then bake under a grill (at about 200 degrees C) until the milk turns golden brown. Serve hot. I had refrigerated it after baking it as I wanted hubby to see it. It was very refreshing to eat it chilled too.

This is also my entry to  Priya's Cooking With cardamom Seeds Event