Apple Halwa
Oct 12, 2014, Updated Jan 02, 2018
Apple Halwa in an Indian dessert made with grated apples, sugar and ghee!
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It has been a busy weekend. Yesterday was Karvachauth, a festival widely celebrated in northern Indian where wives fast without water for the long life of their husbands. The fast is broken once the moon comes out. Prayers are offered to the moon and then husband make their wives drink water and break the fast. Very romantic, isn’t it? I totally think it’s a very sweet and romantic festival but all those feelings evaporate into thin air when I see these dessert pics on my blog and elsewhere!
I did not eat/drink anything, yes not even a drop of water until the moon was out. The moon reminds me that this is my 3rd karvachauth [been married for 3 years] and yesterday was the 1st time that I was able to catch a glimpse of the moon for few seconds! This part of US is so cloudy during this time of the year there’s hardly any possibility of moon showing it’s face. I waited till 10 PM during the 1st year and ultimately gave up and since then I decided that I will just go with the moonrise time to break my fast.
Anyway coming to the recipe, I made this apple halwa as I had to make some sweet for karvachauth. Halwa is Indian pudding made with sugar, milk and ghee (clarified butter).
This halwa was super easy to make and I needed only 3 ingredients to make it -apples, ghee (clarified butter) and sugar. Rest of the ingredients are optional but recommended. There’s no milk or mawa in this halwa. I had this in the morning and it tasted great! You can make this for any festive occasion or whenever you can have too many apple lying around.
Method
Wash apples and peel them. Cut into slices and run them into a food processor till the apples are finely grind. Few pieces are ok. You can also use your hands and grate the apples.
In a pan heat ghee on medium heat. Once hot, add the apples.
Cook the apples till all the water is evaporated, this took me around 7-8 minutes. It will take more time if you use more apples.
Now add sugar and mix. Also add cinnamon powder, nutmeg and cardamom powder.
As the sugar melts, the halwa will again become liquidy.
Cook for 5 minutes stirring continuously till all water evaporates.
Garnish with sliced almonds and serve hot.
* Adjust the quantity of sugar depending on how sweet the apples are. Use less if the apples are really sweet.
* Mawa/khoa can be added to the halwa.
* You can skip adding cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom powder. I cannot make an apple recipe without cinnamon so I had to add it.
* You can cook the halwa further for a more solid consistency, cut into squares and enjoy!
Apple Halwa
Ingredients
- 2 apples large [around 1.5 cups grated apples]
- 1.5 tablespoons ghee clarified butter
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg powder
- sliced almonds to garnish
Instructions
- Wash the apples and peel them.
- Cut into slices and run them into a food processor till the apples are well grind. Few pieces are ok.
- In a pan heat ghee on medium heat. Once hot, add the apples.
- Cook the apples till all the water is evaporated, this took me around 7-8 minutes.
- Now add sugar and mix. Also add cinnamon powder, nutmeg and cardamom powder.
- As the sugar melts, the halwa will again become liquidy.
- Cook for 5 minutes stirring continuously till all water evaporates.
- Garnish with sliced almonds and serve hot.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
can this halwa be cooked in the instpot
you may!
Your recipe is very easy & nice … can we use green apples for the recipe
you can but they are usually tart so I will increase the amount of sugar
Hi what kind of apples is this good with? Granny Smiths or any of the red varieties? Thanks for the recipe. Sounds very nice and easy to make.
I have made this recipe with sweet apple varieties like Honey crisp and fuji. Up to you if you want to try with Granny Smith
Hello. Can i replace the ghee? With maybe oil or marjerine?
you can replace ghee with butter.
Tried this twice. Thank you for this simple recipe!?
Hi Manali, finally tried ur apple halwa…tasted amazing!!!! Thank you!
It came out so well, quantity wise, for people who eat a good quantity of dessert, 4 apples would make 1 serving.
Hello Manali, I tried the apple halwa recipe today and it was awesome. I added about 2 table spoons of half and half to make it thicker. Thanks so much for putting this up.
Hi Manali,
Can we refrigerate for 1 or 2 days or should it just be eaten fresh?
you can refrigerate
Hi Manali
Nice recipe. I was just thinking as to what i should do with all those extra apples from Navarathri (because like many, i cannot let food go waste) and you have answered that question like a God-sent messenger 🙂 LOL. Anyway quick question, I have been trying to avoid white sugar as much as possible, so you think brown sugar or jaggery (i prefer jaggery to brown sugar) can be a good alternative, or it will ruin the texture or taste or both. Honestly i am not worried about the texture so much as long as it is going taste good. Just wanted to know if you had tried using jaggery ;-). Loved that comment above from your friend Neha 🙂
you can try with jaggery, should be okay!
Dear Manali, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I just tried it…..tasted…..now cant put next morsel in the mouth, without thanking you.
You are welcome, so glad you liked it Smita
Looks good will try Manali.
Got a whole lot of apples from a friend. Was in complete bind how to use them. I was fed up eating them raw but didn’t have any confidence in cooking any typical dish successfully. This post was my savior. even I can make it perfectly with no preparation and hassle while cooking. Thanks for sharing such an easy peasy tasty recipe.
Hi Manali!
Tried the Apple halwa.. came out really well. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to know Sumita! 🙂
when exactly to add mawa? and which mawa? unsweetened?
Unsweetened, if you want to add, add it after the apples are cooked (before adding the sugar) and saute for a minute or two.
Fantastic recipe…. I generally dont like apples but this was heavenly. Perfect for most occasions. Thank you for sharing
glad to hear that Deepa 🙂
Hello Manali,
I followed your recipe for Apple halwa and it was for a very special occasion. It turned out fabulous. I replaced the almonds with cashews.
Thanks
glad to hear that Milind 🙂
how to prevent discoloring of apple
halwa would be okay I guess…because once it’s cooked..it stays okay..
Just prepared Apple Halwa with your recipe. Turned out real yum. But there is one big problem with your recipe. Your measurements. They are absolutely incorrect. You say Halwa of 2 big apples is sufficient for 1-2 people, but it wasn’t sufficient for 1 🙁 … I mean … it had turned out SO yum, that I finished it off while was tasting it 😉
So I made it once again with 10 big apples, multiplied your ingredients 5 times, made Puris and Chhole to go with it and still it was enough only for me, myself and my 6 yr old.
It is the simplest dessert I have made. And it turns out so yum. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
haha Neha, that’s like the sweetest comment! Thanks a lot, I am glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I’m tempted to make it. But I cant see the method after the ingredients as the ads are covering it ?
Hello Rakshita, sorry you are having trouble viewing the recipe. I can see it just fine so I am not sure what’s going on. Can you please send me a screen shot of the ads covering the recipe so that I can have a look into it? Thanks!
Seems very tasty….i will surely try
great, hope you like it!
Wow,that looks mouth watering!!
Thanks!
Thanks Jen! 🙂
Thanks marcie!
That is a romantic festival! Loved that piece of culture. And this apple dessert looks delicious! I’ve never seen anything like it. Can I be your neighbor?
Thanks Lindsey! You are more than welcome to be my neighbor…we would happily share cupcakes everyday haha! 🙂
Thanks Ami!
Thanks Dannii!
Thanks Mira for pinning! now I should try some Turkish halwa to see how different it is from the Indian one!
I learn something new today! I had never before heard about Karvachauth, it’s a very interesting story. I’m sure this apple halwa tasted really good!
Thanks Azu! Karvachauth is one of my favorite festival 🙂
Nice simple and easy recipe even health for kids alsooo
Thanks Meenu!