Beetroot Halwa - An Easy To Cook Dessert

Beetroot halwa is an easy and simple to cook sweet dish. It is colorful, delicious and natural in flavor. As beetroot is packed with nutrients, eating this dessert has numerous health benefits.

It is an amazing Indian sweet dish, served on happy occasions and during festivals. Eating beetroot halwa is a heavenly experience. Children like to eat this dessert due to its vibrant color. Old people cherish eating this halwa due to its smooth and creamy texture.

• Wash beetroot, remove the skin and grate it. Add milk. Cook it upto two whistles in a cooker. Keep aside. This process helps in decreasing the cooking time. If you don't want to do this, you can cook straight away.
• Heat ghee in a pan. Saute cashewnuts, badam and raisins for 15-20 seconds in low flame or until they become crisp. Remove them on a plate. Let the remaining ghee be in the pan.
• Add semi-cooked beetroot-milk mix to the pan. Increase the flame to medium high. Cook it for 5-6 minutes, occasionally stirring. Pour sugar. Add milk cream. Mix well. Continue cooking till the water evaporates completely. Add cardamom powder, vanilla essence, roasted cashewnuts, badam and raisins (keeping a few for garnishing). By this time, the beetroot becomes a little gummy. Remove on a serving bowl.
• Garnish it with roasted dry nuts and raisins. Enjoy eating this dessert anywhere and any time!!

Nutritionists nowadays consider beetroot as a super food. It is rich in immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber and essential minerals like potassium, which helps in muscle and nerve functioning.

Beetroot has manganese which is good for bones, liver, kidneys and pancreas. It has B vitamin folates that help to reduce the risk of birth defects.

Beetroot juice improves athletic performance and lowers blood pressure, increases blood flow. Research at Wake Forest University has found that drinking beetroot juice can improve oxygenation to the brain, slowing the progression of dementia in older adults.

During old age, blood circulation for certain areas of brain decreases, resulting in a decline in cognition and dementia. Drinking beetroot juice regularly can have a positive effect in such cases. Beetroot has nitrate content that can improve blood flow and oxygenation to those areas of the brain.

Due to high fiber content, beetroot helps in digestion, prevents constipation. Beetroot is one of the vegetables that helps in maintaining body weight. Certain antioxidant in beetroot, Alpha-lipoic acid is known to lower the blood glucose levels and increase insulin sensitivity in patients with diabetes.

Choline is an important nutrient found in beetroot that helps with sleep, muscle movement and in carrying nerve impulses to the brain. It is known to reduce chronic inflammation. Beetroot juice improves muscle power in heart patients.

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

Beetroot juice contains nitrate. If it is stored improper way, the nitrate may react with bacteria, converting nitrate to nitrite. High dose of nitrite consumption is harmful for health.

Eating beetroot may result in red stool or red urine.

It is always better to consume varieties of food than sticking to a few varieties. By doing this, you will get various nutrients. This is the key for keeping good health.