Beet and Carrot Wadi

As you will realize a few posts down that I have a huge sweet-tooth. And so it was an obvious choice for me to inaugurate this blog with a 'wadi' that is simple, delicious and nutritious - the Beet and Carrot Wadi!

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups grated carrot
3 1/2 cups grated beetroot
1 mashed potato
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/4 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ghee
A few green cardamoms seeds

Method

Take two teaspoons of ghee in a skillet. Put in the cardamom seeds once the ghee is hot. Then add the grated coconut and stir it till it is a very light brown. Add the grated carrots and beet to the skillet and stir till they appear to be shrinking. Pour in the condensed milk, whole milk, and sugar and mix it well. Due to the inherent sweetness of the beet and carrots this recipe requires very little sugar as compared to many other sweets. You can further reduce the quantity of sugar from the suggested 1 1/4 cup to one cup according to taste.

When stirring make sure that the mixture does not stick to the pan. The burnt smell can spoil the smell and flavor of the wadi. After about 8-10 minutes add the mashed potato and mix it well. The potato is necessary to hold the mixture together. The mixture will now appear to be almost liquid and requires to be cooked until it is just about dry. The consistency of the mixture should be only a little dryer than the regular 'halwa'. During the entire process do not use a lid as it will slow down the evaporation process.

Now take a baking tray and grease it with ghee or oil. Then transfer the mixture to it and flatten it out evenly. Set it to cool. Once the wadi is completely cooled off and appears dry, cut it into squares and serve.