Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa) is a traditional Indian dessert made with carrots, milk, sugar and ghee. It's a winter specialty and is perfect for festive celebrations.
1/4cupassorted nutsI used cashew nuts and pistachios
Instructions
To a large heavy bottomed pot, add the carrots and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Now add the milk, stir and lower the heat.
Cook for 1-2 hours on low heat, or until all the moisture has evaporated and there is no liquid left. It’s important to keep stirring occasionally during this step.
Add the sugar, and cook on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes until the moisture from the sugar has dried up.
Add the ghee and khoya (milk solids) and on medium high heat, keep cooking the halwa until you can see the oil separating about 5-7 minutes.
Add the cardamom powder, stir until combined.
Finally add the assorted nuts, give it a mix, and gajar ka halwa is ready to be enjoyed!
Notes
Ingredient Notes:
Red Carrots: These carrots are sweeter in flavour and have a bright red color. If you cannot find any, you can substitute with the regular variety of carrots. I use a food processor to grate the carrots as it’s quicker and convenient, but you can also grate them by hand.
Milk: I highly recommend that you use whole milk for this recipe as it adds a richness to the halwa that other percentage milk cannot do so.
Ghee: Use high quality ghee for best results. You can adjust the amount to your liking, and increase it up to about 1 cup for a more indulgent halwa.
Khoya: You can make homemade khoya, or skip it completely if it’s not easily available.
Cardamom powder: You can also use 3-4 crushed green cardamom in place of this.
Nuts: I used cashew nuts and pistachios, but you can also add peeled almonds which is more traditional.
Boiled Eggs: Sounds a bit strange, but in Punjab (Pakistan) this halwa is topped with chopped boiled eggs.
Alternate Methods of Cooking the Halwa:Milk Powder Method:
Follow the recipe as is, except do not add khoya at the end.
Instead, you can add 1/2 cup of milk powder after adding the ghee.
Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
Condensed Milk Powder:NOTE: we do not need any whole milk or sugar for this method.
For this method start by heating up the ghee in the pot.
Add the shredded carrots, and then cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat while stirring.
After most of the moisture has evaporated, add 400 ml of condensed milk.
Mix well and continue to cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes, while stirring, or until most of the moisture has dried out.
Add cardamom powder and dry fruit, and mix well. Your halwa is ready to be enjoyed!