Carrot Halwa - Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar Ka Halwa also known as gajrela is a sweet dessert pudding originating from the Indian Sub-Continent,associated mainly with North India.It is made by placing grated carrot in a pot containing  a specific amount of water, milk and then sugar and cooking while stirring regularly.It is often served with a garnish of almonds, cashews and pistachios. The nuts and the other items used are first are sauted in ghee(clarified butter).It is a light nutritious and a very tasty dessert.It has a very low fat content. Because of its low fat content, vegetarian characteristics, ease of making, medium shelf-life and  taste it is a popular dessert all over India and often served at most festivals.This dish is popular among adults as well as children.

INGREDIENTS:

• Fresh Carrots - shredded - 4 cups
• Milk - 3 cups(whole milk gives richness)
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Ghee (clarified butter) - 8 tbsp (appx. 1/2 cup)
• Cashew nuts - 20
• Cardamom pods(elachi/elakkai) - 1 tsp

TIMINGS AND SERVINGS:

• Preparation Time - 15 minutes
• Cooking time - 45 minutes
• Total time - 1 hour
• Difficulty - Easy
• Serves - 2 cups
• Recipe type - Dessert

STEPS:-

STEP:1

Wash, peel and grate the carrots.

STEP:2

Place a wide-mouthed, heavy-bottomed vessel in Medium-High heat. [Wide-mouthed vessel so that the carrots get cooked fast and uniform. This way you can save gas, time and energy. I did not have a wide-mouthed vessel. Used my pressure cooker]. Add 4 tbsp. ghee.

STEP:3

Add the shredded carrots into the ghee and mix well.

STEP:4

Fry until the carrots turn pale. Compare picture above and below. Do you see the color difference in the carrots? Carrots have turned pale which means they won’t have raw smell. You’ll now feel a kind of sweet smell from the carrots. This process takes around 10 minutes. Add the milk.

STEP:5

I used 3 cups of milk. i.e. enough milk to submerge the carrots so that they get cooked well in the milk. Allow the milk to boil. It takes 5 minutes to boil.

STEP:6

Let the carrots get cooked well in the milk. The carrots should drink in all the milk. This will take 20-30 minutes. Stir the content from time to time to prevent scorching. [Duration will sure come down if you use a wide wok. btw, is anybody looking at my scorched vessel? I’ve to get non-stick set <note to the husband>]

STEP:7

Once the milk is completely drunk, add in the sugar.

Mix well. Reduce flame to Medium. Once sugar is added, the content tends to liquefy (picture in the right). Need not alarm. Stir at regular intervals. We need to wait until the mixture turns thick. This will take around 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile work on Step 8,9 & 10.

STEP:8

Place a small wok in medium flame. Roast the cashews will 1 tsp. ghee. When the cashews turn golden, turn off stove and remove the cashews from wok.

STEP:9

I like to have my cashews broken. If you prefer to have it whole, please do.

STEP:10

Remove seeds from one cardamom pod and powder it. [I powder it by placing the seeds in a tumbler and pound it hard with roti roller pin. If you have readymade cardamom powder then use it.]

STEP:11

We were waiting for the sugar to get thick. See, the carrot mixture became thick.

STEP:12

Now, add the remaining ghee/clarified butter (4 tbsp.)

STEP:13

Add the roasted cashews and powdered cardamom. Mix them well.

STEP:14

Cook the halwa stirring occasionally until the added ghee separates out. This takes 10 more minutes. [Do not wait for the halwa to become thick. 10 minutes after adding ghee should be enough. The right consistency is when you mix the mixture, it should stir together forming a mass.]

NOTE:Serve the Carrot Halwa hot, preferably warm. [Once the Halwa reaches room temperature pack them in a container and you can refrigerate. I had them for a week. Hey, take time to read the tips on garnishing and serving below.]

GARNISH THE CARROT HALWA ACCORDING TO YOUR WISH!