As we drive out to the apple orchards, I love watching homes slowly disappear as we leave behind our urban bubble. Slowly green fields begin to appear on both sides of us. The kids always wonder, are we going the wrong way, are we lost? Gradually the road becomes one lane, and we find ourselves surrounded by corn and soybeans. And through the fields, we pull into a muddy parking lot with a giant red barn and orchards beyond it. In no time, we are in a different world.
We've gone every year since the kids were born, but this year Poet and Flower are off like little rockets the minute we get there. I am always amazed at how different they are. Flower picked and picked apples. She carefully surveyed each tree for a large green apple with no bugs or holes. Her bag was full in no time, leaving us to carry several hefty bags of apples. She quickly moved on to her next bag. Poet went about apple picking in a completely different way. For him, the volume of apples was not important. He quickly found a tree he could climb easily and scampered up. His goal was the apple at the top. He would carefully climb down and stand there, slowly eating his prize.
The stillness of the orchards is wonderful. It's quiet and peaceful - a lovely respite from everything. With so many apples, at the top of my list to make is apple halwa. Halwa is a classic Indian dessert made with sugar and ghee. You can make halwa with almost anything: there is badam halwa made with almonds, gajar ka halwa made with carrots, and sooji halwa, made with semolina. These are just a few. It's thought that halwa came to India with the Mughal empire.
Apples offer a nice twist to the traditional halwa recipe. It's very simple with only a few ingredients and comes together in about half an hour. It's sweet and tart all at the same time. Slowly cook down the apples until you have a rich, decadent dessert. It's a perfect after-dinner treat. Just a little is all you need.
At the end of the day, we all enjoyed delicious apple cider doughnuts. Poet was sad he missed the pig races. But there is still time to come back when we go pumpkin picking.
Apple Halwa
A rich Indian dessert or mitah. Apples are slowly cooked with ghee and sugar. It's decadent and rich, perfect for an after dinner bite.
Serves 4
- 4 apples
- 4 tablespoons ghee
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 cardamon
- 2 cloves
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 10 almonds (slivered)
- ¼ cup sugar
- Grate the apples coarsely. A box grater works great.
- In a large frypan , heat ghee over medium heat and add slivered almonds. Saute for 30 seconds and then set then aside.
- Add the cinnamon, cardamon and clove. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the grated apples and half and half. Stir frequently until the apples are cooked and their juices are almost evaporated, about 20 minutes.
- Add the sugar and continue to stir until the halwa thickens, about 10 minutes. You will notice that it pulls away from the pan and is very thick.
-
Sprinkle with slivered almonds and serve. You can serve it warm or at room temperature. It's also great with vanilla ice cream or just a dollop of whipped cream.
