Bik-nana Halwa | Banana-Jackfruit Seed Halwa
Wondering what a strange name? The Bik-nana Halwa is a Banana-Jackfruit seed Halwa and it is named after the two main ingredients in it viz. Jackfruit seeds, known as Bikna in Konkani and Banana/ ripe plantain.
Jackfruit seeds are pressure cooked until soft and blended together with the ripe plantain/ banana and then cooked similar to a banana halwa. The Bik-nana Halwa is an added twist to the regular banana halwa. Try it out!
Bik-nana Halwa
Ingredients
- 15 nos Jackfruit seeds
- Water, as needed, for pressure cooking and grinding
- 1 no Overripe Plantain, (substitute with 2 bananas)
- ½ cup Jaggery powder
- ⅓ cup Ghee, divided
- 1 tbsp Cashewnuts, chopped
- 1 tbsp Raisins
- 1 tsp Cardomom powder
Instructions
Pressure cooking the Jackfruit seeds:
- In a pressure cooker, cover the jackfruit seeds with sufficient water and cook for around 10 whistles. Take off from the heat and let the pressure cooker cool before opening the lidThe seeds should have turned soft. If not, pressure cook for few more whistles
- Peel off the outer shell from the seeds (you can leave the inner brown skin of the seed). Keep the seeds aside
Grinding the seeds and overripe plantain:
- In a mixie, grind the cooked seeds along with, the overripe plantain, jaggery powder (see notes) and little water till you get a smooth paste
Making the Halwa:
- In a pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the cashewnuts till golden brown, followed by the raisins till they puff up. Remove and keep aside
- To the same pan, add half of the remaining ghee. Once heated, add the banana- jackfruit seed- jaggery paste and cook over a medium low flame, stirring continuously to avoid burning the mixture.
- Once the paste darkens and thickens, add the roasted cashewnuts, raisins and cardomom powder. Mix well and continue cooking until well combined.
- Add the remaining ghee if needed and combine well until the halwa has thickened well
- Grease a high sided dish with some ghee. Transfer the halwa to the dish and spread it evenly and level it. Allow to set and cool to room temperature
- Once cooled, remove from the dish and cut the halwa into chunks of your desired size and enjoy!
Notes
- If you do not have jaggery powder, melt regular jaggery with little water over a low flame and use this melted jaggery for grinding
- You can substitute the jaggery with sugar
- This Halwa will keep well for about a week when stored in an air-tight container
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Loved the Bik-nana Halwa? Do try out these other Halwa recipes
