Microwave ABC Halwa

Before anyone starts wondering whether I am cooking with alphabets, let me assure you that those letters stand for the healthiest and yummiest fruits and the vegetable that star in this delicious and colorful halwa. A for apple, B for banana and c for carrot, you see. The sweet and juicy apple, the vibrant colored crunchy carrot and the humble banana together form a melt in mouth and visually appealing halwa.
I moved to this country a dozen years ago, with minimal culinary skills. I guess I managed to cook 'everyday meals' decently. The real problem was when I had the urge to prepare something special at odd hours when I couldn't call my mother. Then the dear Internet would come to my rescue. At that time, only a few sites were dedicated to Indian cooking that helped to some extent. Most of my trials would be sweets (my favorite of course) though M never had / has a sweet tooth and my son was an infant. It didn't even matter that I was the only person who had to consume all those sugar, butter - laden treats. I was thin as a stick then and so calories didn't come into picture at all. :) Everyday there would be a special.
When I reflect back, I think that I used to cook more borrowed recipes from internet then compared to now. Some of them have found a permanent place in my recipe repertoire. This delicious and easy to cook ABC halwa is one such recipe that has been cooked many times in my kitchen. Today's version is microwave based and doesn't use even a drop of ghee. It takes around 15 minutes to prepare and the only things you do are put the mixture in the MW and stir 3 -4 times.

Ingredients for 2 servings:
1 apple
1 carrot
1 banana
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
For garnish - Chopped nuts or ghee toasted Cashews

Method:
* Peel the apple & carrot and grate them. Mash the banana.
* Add the prepared fruits and the milk in a microwave safe bowl. Cook till it is done and the whole mixture comes together. It may take around 10 - 12 minutes and keep stirring in between.
* Add sugar and cardamom powder to the cooked halwa and put it back in the MW for a couple of minutes more.
* Garnish with nuts or ghee toasted cashews.



This goes to all these lovely events
1. My CFK - Festive Foods, an event originally started by Sharmi.
2. Smitha's MEC - Festive dishes, an event originally started by Srivalli.
3. Priya's Veggie / Fruit a month - Apple
4. Ayesha's Anyone can cook event.
5. Akheela's Food Palette Series - Orange

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