Pear halwa, pear pudding, or whatever you want to call it, is going to be your favourite way to enjoy a quick dessert. This pear halwa legit tastes like a traditional Indian dessert but is based on fruit! It comes together in little to no time, and uses very few ingredients like ripe pears, cardamom, dried fruit and nuts, brown sugar, some plant milk, and saffron if you are feeling fancy!
How to make Pear Halwa?
I used ripe pears but you can actually use substitutes like apples, even carrots (in which case you will want to bump up the sugar).
The steps are very simple:
- Start by adding the saffron strands to 1/4 cup warm milk and set aside. This helps bloom the saffron strands and extracts the flavour.
- Wash the pears and grate them. You can choose to keep the skin on or peel them. I don’t really mind the skin and if your pear is ripe enough, you won’t notice it at all.
- Add the grated pear to a heavy bottom pan and turn on the heat. Let the pear cook on medium to low heat until they turn soft and brown, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add brown sugar, a pinch of salt, crushed cardamom, and the saffron-infused milk to this and mix well. When the right consistency is achieved, turn off the heat and set aside.
- In a small pan, heat up the vegan ghee/oil to it on medium to low heat and add the nuts and raisins to it. Let it get golden brown, be careful not to burn it.
- Add it immediately to the pear halwa in the other pan and mix well.
- Melt dark chocolate in a separate microwave-safe bowl in the microwave or on a double boiler on the stove.
- Serve the pear halwa in cute bowls and pour the melted chocolate on top.
- You can also chill the pear halwa and melt and pour the chocolate right before serving!
I would be so excited if you give this recipe a go! It’s light on your stomach and honestly just tastes pretty damn good! Comment below if you give it a try 😉
Here are other delicious Indian desserts for you to try:
- Vegan Pal Payasam – Rice Pudding
- Vegan Gulab Jamun
- Vegan Kulfi – Indian Ice Cream
- Healthy Vegan Laddoos
- Vegan Ela Ada | The Best Healthy South Indian Dessert
Vegan Pear Halwa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pears ripe or semi-ripe
- 1-2 tbsp brown sugar depending on your sweet tooth
- 4-5 cardamom pods shelled and crushed
- 4-5 strands saffron optional
- 1/4 cup plant milk of choice warm, I used soy milk
- 1 tbsp Vegan ghee or neutral oil
- 6-7 almonds
- 6-7 cashews
- 7-8 raisins
- Dark chocolate melted
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add the saffron strands to 1/4 cup warm milk and set aside. This helps bloom the saffron strands and extracts the flavour.
- Wash the pears and grate them. You can choose to keep the skin on or peel them. I don’t really mind the skin and if your pear is ripe enough, you won’t notice it at all.
- Add the grated pear to a heavy bottom pan and turn on the heat. Let the pear cook on medium to low heat until they turn soft and brown, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add brown sugar, a pinch of salt, crushed cardamom, and the saffron-infused milk to this and mix well. When the right consistency is achieved, turn off the heat and set aside.
- In a small pan, heat up the vegan ghee/oil to it on medium to low heat and add the nuts and raisins to it. Let it get golden brown, be careful not to burn it.
- Add it immediately to the pear halwa in the other pan and mix well.
- Melt dark chocolate in a separate microwave-safe bowl in the microwave or on a double boiler on the stove.
- Serve the pear halwa in cute bowls and pour the melted chocolate on top.
- You can also chill the pear halwa and melt and pour the chocolate right before serving!
lara says
the flavours are on point, it’s fast and fool proof to make, highly adaptable and beautiful – WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?? seriously soo GOOD!
Beextravegant says
Thank you so much for this beautiful review!!! You made my day. I’m super happy that you loved it as much as I did!
Zeal says
Tastes amazing with minimal ingredients. I loved the halwa. Only one problem is the total time mentioned is less. It takes more than 12 minutes 😅
Beextravegant says
Hey Zeal! I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
Oh, hehe, well it could be the type of pear used. It took me less than 12 mins though. Nevertheless, I updated the time to 15 just to be safe 😀
Thanks for the feedback!