Sweets recipes | Havyaka

Govekaayi kadbu | Pumpkin kadbu

By Leena Hegde, Puttanamane

Ingredients A quick look Step by step Notes

Govekaayi (kaddu or pumpkin) kadbu or kadubu is a traditional sweet dish made during Deepavali on Naraka Chaturdashi. Moist, soft, sweet, and filled with the flavours of jaggery and cardamom, this Kadbu is made with ground rice batter and finely chopped pumpkin.

Chopped pumpkin is mixed with rice batter and jaggery and heated to make dough. Then the dough is shaped on banana leaf and steamed to make this delectable sweet kadbu. Though this is a sweet dish, you can eat or serve Govekaayi kadbu even at breakfast.

More on ingredients

Rice: Rice is one of our staple foods and is our most important cultivated cereal grain plant. Unpolished brown rice is used in this recipe which adds better texture and taste to the pumpkin kadbu.

Jaggery: This semi liquid jaggery used in this recipe is made from sugar cane. This jaggery is stored for 10 months to 1 year and used throughout the year, until next season. You can check how jaggery is made - main menu > Photo gallery > Agriculture > Aalemane.

Cardamom: This is another spice that is mostly cultivated by us after pepper. Ripe cardamoms are picked, sundried, and stored. No sweet dish is complete without its distinctive flavor.

Govekaayi | Kaddu | Pumpkin: This versatile and nutritious fruit or vegetable is usually grown during Deepavali festive season. (Pumpkin contains seeds and technically a fruit. In terms of nutrition it is more like a vegetable.) Like its other family members, cucumber and mogekaayi, pumpkin is also durable and stays good for 3 to 6 months at room temperature. Pumpkins vary in size, shape, and colour depending on the variety. Any variety can be used for this tasty kadbu.

Prep time

5 hours

Cook time

30 mins

Cool off time

10 mins

Total time

5 hrs 40 mins

Course

Sweets

Diet

Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty level

Difficult

Servings

5 kadbu

Ingredients

1 cup rice
3 cups finely chopped pumpkin
1/2 cup jaggery or as required
4 to 5 cardamoms
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Water as required

Cookware / Utensils

Thick pan or kadai
Spoon or ladle
Steamer
Banana leaves - 5 to 6 medium banana leaf pieces

Instructions

Make rice batter

Take 1 cup rice in a thick pan and dry fry on low to medium heat. Keep stirring till the rice is heated inside out. Switch off the heat once it is aromatic. No need to brown the rice. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes. Let it cool.
Once the rice is completely cooled down, take the rice in a bowl and rinse until clean and soak for about 3 hours.
Remove cardamom seeds, and rinse them. Cover and keep aside.
After 3 hours, drain the water from the soaked rice. Add the rice to a mixer jar or grinder. Add cardamom seeds.
Add water and grind to a smooth batter. The batter consistency should be thin but not too thin. Cover and keep aside.

Make kadbu dough

Wash pumpkin, peel off the skin and chop to fine and thin pieces – 3 cups tightly packed.
Now take the chopped pumpkin in a thick pan or kadai. Add 1/2 cup Jaggery or as required.
Add 3 cups water and keep it on high heat. Stir occasionally. Let it come to boil.
Reduce the heat to low as soon as it starts boiling. Add the rice batter and stir well. You need to be very quick as the rice batter starts thickening as soon as you pour it and may stick at the bottom.

You can switch of the heat and mix the rice batter with pumpkin mixture. Mix well and heat it again.
Mix well and keep stirring. There should not be any lumps.
Switch off once the kadbu dough thickens.

Soften banana leaves and grate coconut

Take 5 banana leaf medium pieces, clean them with water or clean wet cloth.
Take each banana leaf piece and pass them over low flame (one sheet at a time), moving them constantly, until they soften and pliable. Keep aside.
Grate a fresh coconut – 1/4 cup. (Optional)

Shape and steam pumpkin kadbu

Take a steamer place a stand and pour enough water.
Place a plate and a banana leaf on top of the stand. Make sure water is not overflowing on the plate. Heat it on medium flame.
Now, take a portion of the kadbu dough and place it on a banana leaf that you have softened.
Spread the dough thinly with your fingers in square or rectangular shape in the center of the banana leaf.
Spread a small portion of grated coconut on top of the each shaped dough. This is optional. You can opt out coconut.
Fold all four sides of the banana leaf and close the kadbu. There should not be any gap left.
Place the shaped kadbu in the steamer. This way shape all the kadbu and add to the steamer.
Close the steamer lid and increase the heat to high. Steam the kadbu for 30 to 40 minutes depending on the steamer type and the intensity of the heat applied.
Once done, switch off the heat and wait for 10 minutes. Then take out the kadbu.
Remove the banana leaf carefully.
Remove the kadbu and serve hot or warm or cold (room temperature) with fresh ghee.

Step by step guide

How to make pumpkin kadbu

Make rice batter

1. Take 1 cup rice in a thick pan and dry fry on low to medium heat. Keep stirring till the rice is heated inside out. Switch off the heat once it is aromatic. No need to brown the rice. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes. Let it cool.

2. Once the rice is completely cooled down, take the rice in a bowl and rinse until clean and soak for about 3 hours.

3. Remove cardamom seeds, and rinse them. Cover and keep aside.

4. After 3 hours, drain the water from the soaked rice. Add the rice to a mixer jar or grinder. Add cardamom seeds.

5. Add water and grind to a smooth batter. The batter consistency should be thin but not too thin. Cover and keep aside.

Make kadbu dough

6. Wash pumpkin, peel off the skin and chop to fine and thin pieces – 3 cups tightly packed.

7. Now take the chopped pumpkin in a thick pan or kadai. Add 1/2 cup Jaggery or as required.

8. Add 3 cups water and keep it on high heat. Stir occasionally. Let it come to boil.

9. Reduce the heat to low as soon as it starts boiling. Add the rice batter and stir well. You need to be very quick as the rice batter starts thickening as soon as you pour it and may stick at the bottom.

You can switch of the heat and mix the rice batter with pumpkin mixture. Mix well and heat it again.

10. Mix well and keep stirring. There should not be any lumps.

11. Switch off once the kadbu dough thickens.

Below image shows the right consistency of the dough.

Soften banana leaves and grate coconut

12. Take 5 banana leaf medium pieces, clean them with water or clean wet cloth.

13. Take each banana leaf piece and pass them over low flame (one sheet at a time), moving them constantly, until they soften and pliable. Keep aside.

14. Grate a fresh coconut – 1/4 cup. (Optional)

Shape and steam pumpkin kadbu

15. Take a steamer place a stand and pour enough water.

16. Place a plate and a banana leaf on top of the stand. Make sure water is not overflowing on the plate. Heat it on medium flame.

If you do not have an additional banana leaf, you can just place a plate.

17. Now, take a portion of the kadbu dough and place it on a banana leaf that you have softened.

18. Spread the dough thinly with your fingers in square or rectangular shape in the center of the banana leaf.

19. Spread a small portion of grated coconut on top of the each shaped dough. This is optional. You can opt out coconut.

20. Fold sides of the banana leaf as shown in the picture below.

21. Fold all four sides of the banana leaf and close the kadbu. There should not be any gap left.

22. Place the shaped kadbu in the steamer. This way shape all the kadbu and add to the steamer.

23. Close the steamer lid and increase the heat to high. Steam the kadbu for 30 to 40 minutes depending on the steamer type and the intensity of the heat applied.

You can check the doneness after 30 minutes. If it is not done steam again.

24. Once done, switch off the heat and wait for 10 minutes. Then take out the kadbu.

25. Remove the banana leaf carefully.

26. Remove the kadbu and serve hot or warm or at room temperature with fresh ghee.

Notes

Adding coconut is optional. You can make couple of kadbu with coconut, and the rest without coconut.
Pumpkin Kadbu stays good for a day (24 hrs) at room temperature. After a day you can reheat and keep it for another day. In hot summer, consume within a day.