Beet root Halwa and Yoghurt Mousse Cheesecake

For a long time I had been trying my hands on some Indo western fusion dessert . This was specially to cut down the sickly sweet Indian dessert but still enjoy its lajaab flavour . 

Carrot Halwa( Gajar ka Halwa) has always been one of my favourite dessert and so is Srikhand (flavoured hung yoghurt) . So the idea came into my mind to do something combining both and give a western tadka , look and flavour . 

So to make it more colourful and appealing , I used Beet root instead of Carrots . Beet root is considered more healthier than carrots .Lots of nuts, Biscuit base and candied shredded coconut gave the crunch element to the dessert . Sweetness came from the Beetroot halwa , Creaminess from the yoghurt mousse and saltiness 

from the dried and salted Beetroot crisp powder.

The dessert is light but decadent . 

Ingredients :

Beet Root Halwa:

Beetroot - 4 cups coarsely grated

Milk Powder – 6 tbsp 

Sweet condensed milk – 1 cup

Ghee  – 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder – 1 tbsp

Sliced roasted Almonds 

Roasted Cashew Nut

Biscuit Base:
Coconut Biscuit - 15-20

Butter, melted  - 1/3 cup

              

Yoghurt Mousse :

Yoghurt - 300mls

Cream -   300mls

Caster Sugar - 2-3 Tbsp

Gelatin - 3 tsp

Water -   1/4 cup

Candied Shredded Coconut :

Shredded dessicated coconut - 3/4 cup

Sugar - 2 tbsp 

(Optional) Beet Root Crisps - From Super market 

Method: 

To Make Beet root halwa , peel off the beetroot skin ,grate and keep aside .

Add the grated beet root In a wide pan , sauté for 2 minutes and this make the beetroot tender.  Add  Sweet condensed milk mix well.Then add cardamom powder and Milk powder. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Add Ghee and stir continuously till mixture begins to leave the sides of the  pan.When mixture becomes thick then cut off heat.Add  roasted almonds and  cashew nuts .Let the Halwa cool .

For cheesecake base,  ground the coconut biscuits in a blender and add melted Butter . Mix well.Press this into the bottom  of a 9- inch springform pan. I use the bottom of a glass to do this step. A springform pan is a  necessity when making cheesecake. The sides are easily removed and your cheesecake will be perfectly  intact.Keep the cake tin in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Add cooled down Beet root halwa on top of the biscuit crust evenly. Keep in the fridge for another 10-15 minutes.

For Youghurt mousse, in a small bowl, put  water and gelatin and mix . Once the gelatin blooms , microwave to dissolve . 

Mix the yogurt and sugar in a medium sized bowl.

In a different bowl, pour whipping cream in and whisk until it whips up to soft peak. Make sure it has the same texture as the yogurt.

Add hot gelatin solution ,in the yogurt and stir fast to keep it from clumping up.

Fold the whipped cream , into the bowl from step 8 and mix. 

After mixing, pour over the Beet root halwa layer and chill for about an hour.

For Candied coconut, in a small frying pan, add dessicated Coconut and sugar and 1 cup of water . Cook till the water evaporates and the coconut becomes a bit golden brown and sticky . Cool to get it a bit crunchy . 

Add on top of the yoghurt layer . 

Ground Beet root crisps to powder and sprinkle on top. 

Option: Instead of Beet root halwa, you can use , Carrot halwa / pumpkin halwa / halved Gulab jamun .Instead of normal Yoghurt , you can use fruit yoghurts too . I have tried using Plum yoghurt and that gave an extra layer of flavour to the dessert .