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Carrot Halwa
Serves 4
60 mins
350 Kcal
One of the sweetest desires people long to taste in India, perhaps even the one that comes out creamy as a dessert. This traditional gajar ka halwa dessert is made from grated carrots, milk, ghee, sugar, and the aromatic zest of cardamom for a perfect blend of flavours. The simplicity of this carrot halwa recipe is what makes it extremely popular for festivals, celebrations, or an indulgent treat at home. The recipe of carrot halwa starts with fresh grates of carrots, which are cooked in slow ghee till they become soft and release their sweetness or, instead, their natural sweetness. During the cooking, milk is added to make the halwa rich and creamy. The mixture is then simmered till milk dries so luscious ground for the halwa. It is sprinkled with sugar, which is added for sweetness. It has a touch of aroma flavoured with cardamom. It is decorated with toppings of roasted nuts in the form of almonds, cashews, and raisins for extra texture and flavour. The beauty of this carrot halwa recipe is that you can vary it as you please. You can lessen the sweetness as much as you like, add khoya to give it an even richer taste or cook it in a pressure cooker for a much faster version. Still, Carrot Halwa is always served warm but can also be chilled; this makes it suitable to consume in any season. From a special occasion to the comfort of a dessert on a regular day, the Carrot Halwa recipe always finds its place in everyone's hearts.
Ingredients required for Carrot Halwa
- 1 kg carrot
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 l milk
- 200 gms sugar
- 1/4 cup raisin
- 1/4 cup cashews
Cooking steps for Carrot Halwa
- 1Begin by washing, scraping, and grating 1 kg of fresh carrots. For this halwa recipe, it's best to use tender, red, or orange carrots because they are naturally sweet, which will bring better flavour to the halwa.
- 2After grating the carrots, set them aside in a bowl.
- 3This preparation step is critical because finely grated carrots will cook quicker and mix better with the other ingredients. Now, take a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Put the pan on a medium heat.
- 4Add two tablespoons of ghee to the pan. Ghee adds so much to the dish's flavour and helps give the halwa a silky texture.
- 5Allow the ghee to melt completely before adding grated carrots.
- 6Once the ghee is hot, put the grated carrots into the pan. Saut the carrots in ghee for about 8-10 minutes.
- 7Stir continuously to ensure that the carrots are cooked evenly and soft. In this step, the raw aroma of carrots fades, and those carrots will begin releasing their sweet fragrance. Stir, stir, and stir: The carrots should not stick to the pan or get burnt.
- 8add 1 litre full-fat milk to the pan once the carrots have softened. The milk is what gives halwa its rich consistency.
- 9Mixing it well so that the milk is distributed would be best. Allow the milk to boil slowly and then reduce the flame to low- medium flame.
- 10Allow the carrots to cook in the milk, stirring occasionally.
- 11This step takes much patience because the milk has to be reduced significantly.
- 12During the cooking of the carrots, they absorb all the milk. The liquid begins to thicken as the mixture cooks and till it becomes almost paste-like; this process takes roughly 30-40 minutes.
- 13Stir frequently so that milk does not stick to the pan.
- 14Once the milk has nearly evaporated and thickened up, add 200 gms of sugar. Sugar melts up with the halwa to make it sweet and enhances natural carrot flavours.
- 15Now, stir sugar well; cook another 10-15 minutes on low flame. All the while, the halwa will thicken, and the sugar will dissolve completely in it. Stir regularly so that nothing is sticking at the bottom or burning.
- 16Cooking halwa In a small pan, heat one tablespoon of ghee on a medium flame. Once the ghee gets heated, 1/4 cup chopped cashew and 1/4 cup raisins are added. Roast them in the ghee till the cashews get golden brown colour and the raisins get puffed.
- 17That is how excellent crunchiness and texture are added to halwa.
- 18When the cashews and raisins are roasted, add them to the halwa mixture.
- 19Mix them well into the mixture of halwa without much stirring and let the halwa cook for another 5 minutes, allowing everything to get well incorporated.
- 20By now, the halwa should have thickened and become rich, and the ghee must separate a little from the laddoo mixture .
- 21Switch off the stove and let the halwa cool a little before serving. The cooling time will help the halwa to set a little, thus making it convenient for serving.
- 22Serve the carrot halwa warm or even at room temperature.
- 23It is usually prepared during festivals and other special days, of course, perfectly garnished with additional nuts such as almonds or pistachios.