Nenthra pazham halwa / banana halwa

Nenthra pazham halwa is a soft, chewy and yummy halwa that is very popular dessert in Kerala. It is very simple and less time consuming recipe. Click here for more halwa recipes in my blog.

Ingredients:

yields 1 cup of halwa

1 no – Nenthra pazham (big one / nicely ripped)
4 to 5 tbsp – Sugar / i used sugar in raw (brown sugar)
3 to 4 tsp - Ghee
2 pinches – Cardamom powder
1 tbsp – Chopped nuts (almonds, cashew nuts)

Preparation method:

Take banana that are really ripe. Peel off the skin and remove the seed part in the middle. Chop them into fine pieces and set it aside.
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom kadai / non stick pan, add chopped nenthra pazham / banana and saute for 5 minutes, by that time banana would have mashed up as shown in the picture.
Now add sugar to the mashed bananas and keep it on medium flame. Keep stirring continuously adding ghee in intervals to avoid drying. After few mins, sugar melts and combines with mashed banana. Color also starts changing a bit.
Add chopped nuts and cardamom powder to the halwa and mix well. After 10 to15 minutes, you will see the halwa becomes glossy, comes together and it no longer sticks to the bottom. This indicates that halwa is done (as shown in the picture). Nenthra pazham halwa is ready.

Notes:

If you prefer you may transfer halwa to a greased plate and after 15 to 20 mins cut in to desired shape.
Keep all the ingredients ready before you start making halwa. Because you cannot move here and there while stirring.
Always keep flame in medium heat.
You should be very careful and stir it continuously otherwise the halwa get burnt and spoil your dish
Add ghee as much you can because ghee makes the halwa more rich.
You can adjust the quantity of sugar according to your taste. Also I used sugar in raw (brown sugar) in this recipe instead of our regular sugar.