Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar ka halwa is the epitome of winter foods in India and this is my first for this season.  We all love it at my home.  I make it atleast 7 times throughout winter season.

Somehow I don’t like to call it Carrot halwa,  Gajar ka halwa sounds so closer to home and heart.

This timeless classic recipe is known to all Indians, still I feel it deserves a place on the blog so have added it alongwith a few handy tips.  Do take a look.

Here I would like to emphasise that I have never used mawa / khoya or condensed milk in my recipe ever.  It’s always pure desi ghee and full fat milk along with nuts and raisins & of course the sprinkle of green cardamom powder.  It elevates my recipe to perfection.

I have a feeling, in the following weeks, I will be adding a few more pics of this recipe on THE ART OF PLATING concept.   Simply because I will be making it multiple times !!

Ingredients :

• 1 kg fresh & juicy red carrots  (finely grated)
• 200gms granulated sugar
• 1 ltr full fat milk
• 1 cup desi ghee
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• ½ cup nuts (cashewnuts, almonds, pista) & raisins (optional)
• 1 tsp saffron (kesar)

Method :

• First rinse the carrots thoroughly. Then peel and grate them.
• Heat a kadai or deep thick bottomed pan, add desi ghee and roast the grated carrots well, till they wilt and soften.
• Then add the full-fat milk to the pan.
• On a low to medium flame, bring the whole mixture to a boil and then simmer.
• While the mixture is simmering on a low flame, keep on stirring in between.
• The grated carrots will cook in the milk and the milk will start to reduce and evaporate.
• When the milk has reduced 75% add sugar
• Stir well and continue to simmer and cook on a low flame.
• Do keep on stirring the halwa in between.
• Towards the end add the cardamom powder, nuts, saffron and raisins. Simmer the halwa till all the milk is evaporated and it starts leaving ghee. Switch off the burner.
• Lastly, add 1tbsp of ghee and stir well.
• Serve gajar halwa hot, warm or you can also serve it cold. garnish with some chopped dry fruits while serving.

Tips :

1. Once you put in the sugar the carrots will stop cooking, so it’s important to first wilt the carrot in ghee thoroughly. When sugar starts cooking, at first it leaves water and later will caramelize slowly and thicken the halwa.  So always add the sugar later.
2. Be careful not to over roast the carrot in ghee, else it will turn the halwa more brownish than reddish.
3. The milk has to reduce well (almost half the quantity) and this thickened milk will give a beautiful creamy texture to the halwa.
4. Ensure to add that last dollop of desi ghee before you take out the halwa from the kadhai.
   (You will thank me for this tip.)
5. Do we need to add the saffron strands since halwa is already orange ? yes it’s a MUST ! It’s more for the flavour than the colour.