Mango Halwa

I came across Madhuram's mango halwa a few days back while I was looking for ways to use up some mango pulp that had been left over from a recipe I'd tried a couple of days earlier. I decided to give her recipe a try based on the great feedback she'd received by way of comments, and her beautiful picture of the halwa.

Ingredients:
(For 7-8 small pieces)
2 cups canned mango pulp (easily found at any Indian store)
1 Tbsp ghee


Method:
In a heavy-bottomed pan, add the ghee followed by the mango pulp. Cook, stirring at regular intervals till the pulp thickens. It will reduce considerably as the moisture in it evaporates, almost 55-60 minutes. It is advisable to use a splatter screen while cooking to keep the stovetop and its surroundings clean. Though I cooked the pulp for close to an hour, I did not get the consistency that I was looking for. I thought that refrigerating it would help solidify it a bit, so I left it in the refrigerator overnight. However, it was still very soft and gooey the next day. I then microwaved it (in a small microwave-safe cup) for 5-8 minutes taking the sticky mango mass out of the microwave and stirring every couple of minutes. Finally, it began to come together.

Place the halwa on a small greased plate and spread as evenly as possible.

Refrigerate, cut and serve.

Notes: I managed to get the texture that Madhuram got (she cooked almost 3 cups of the pulp in 45-50 minutes on stovetop alone) only by a combination of stovetop cooking (an hour, in my case) and microwaving (another 6-8 minutes)- too much work considering that all I wanted to do was just use up some leftover pulp! This is definitely a lot of work for something that yields so little. The taste, despite a hint of sourness, is simply fantastic. I will make this again for sure, relying completely on my microwave the next time, to simplify things a bit to get the job done.