Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa

With the arrival of winters, the one sweet dish we all often crave for is Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa. Since winter season brings is laden with so many festivals in India like Dusshera and Diwali, Gajar ka halwa becomes a staple Indian dessert in most Indian homes. I must say that after gulab jamuns the one dessert that i truly love to have is carrot halwa. What can be more comforting than warm carrot halwa on a cold and frosty winter day!!

Gajar ka Halwa is basically a famous North Indian sweet desert pudding that is made from grated carrots which is slowly cooked in milk with sugar.

The carrots can be grated manually or in a food processor. Gajar ka halwa can be prepared in a variety of way using milk, khoya or condensed milk. For those who intend to make this recipe a bit quicker, they can prepare it in microwave or in a pressure cooker. But the slowly cooked halwa is beyond comparison. Since the halwa is simmered for a good hour or so, one should use always use a pan with a thick base or go for non-stick pan.

  Level: Difficulty    

 Prep time: 15 mins

 Cook time: 1 hr

 Total time: 1hr 15mins

INGREDIENTS:

• Carrots –  1 kg or 10 nos approx.
• Sugar – 2 cups (500grm)
• Boiled Milk – 3cups (600 ml approx.)
• Ghee (clarified butter) – 12 tbps (be generous)
• Cashew nuts -3-4 tbps chop the nuts
• Almonds (badam) – 10 (optional for garnishing)
• Cardamom Powder - 1tbps
• Khoya – ¼ cup

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Wash the carrots and trim their edges. Scrape the skin lightly and grate all the carrots using a grater and keep aside
2. Soak the almonds in some warm water for 15-20 mins and peel the skin and chopped them into sliver and keep aside
3. Heat the pan or uril and add 8tbps of ghee. When it became warm, add the chopped cashew nuts and roast over low flame till they turned into golden brown. Drain them completely and transfer to a plate and keep aside.
4. Now to the same pan add the grated carrots. Simmer the flame completely and sauté for 20- 25 mins. The color of the carrots would have completely changed and it would have gotten cooked completely. But the most important thing is to get rid of the raw smell of the carrots
5. Now add milk to cook the carrots and increase the flame to medium. Let the carrots cook in the milk till the entire mixture becomes dry. Keep mixing in between to avoid the carrots sticking to the bottom of the pan. This should tale 15-20 mins.
6. Now add sugar and mix well once you add the sugar the entire mixture would once again become liquefied or of loose consistency. The sugar would begin to caramelize the carrots and milk mixture and you can see that the consistency become sticky this should take 15mins.
7. Now add shredded khoya to this mixture and give a good mix.
8. When the halwa becomes dry add the remaining 4tbps of ghee, cardamom powder, roasted cashew nuts and mix well. Cook for more 5mins while mixing continuously and halwa come together in a mass. Switch off the flame and take off stove.
9. Serve hot in individual bowls and garnish with slivered almonds. 

NOTES:

1. Adding cardamom powder is optional
2. Always add sugar only after the carrots are fully cooked
3. Carrots in generally are sweet so adjust the sweetness accordingly
4. During the cooking process of carrots make sure the flame is medium low so you don’t burn them

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