Carrot Halwa Recipe (Gajar Ka Halwa) With Step By Step Instructions

How To Make Carrot Halwa Or Gajar Ka Halwa?

CARROT HALWA OR GAJAR KA HALWA- CARROTS SLOW COOKED IN WHOLE MILK WITH NUTS & SAFFRON.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope this  new year brings you all immense happiness, good health and lots of positive vibes. Let us all remember that while life is no bed of roses, its beauty lies in small things and we can all live happily when we choose our battles wisely.The year of 2016 was one of ugly surprises for me and to the world in more ways than one. But i hope 2017 changes all that. 🙂

Carrot halwa or Gajar Ka Halwa instantly transports me back to my India days. I sorely miss the winters here in Singapore. The chilly weather with a nip in the air and the morning mist which sometimes extended itself into the afternoons too gave me a sense of joy.

Bundled up in layers of warm clothing,  i would cook whatever i could with the freshest winter produce that came my way. My domestic help would often bring a basket full of fresh green tuvar or green peas often.

And then there were carrots, vibrant and their tops intact. They were also known as Delhi carrots and they were red in color unlike the normal orange ones we get all around the year.

This post is a dedication to those winters that i miss. Carrot halwa was a regular in my house when it was winter in Vadodara. After all, what could one do when carrots and cauliflowers used to sellat Rs. 5 per kg? We dont come across those deep red Delhi carrots here in Sg. So i just used the regular Australian produce that we get. My craving for a hot bowl of carrot halwa had reached its saturation point that i simply did not have the patience to go check Mustafa this time.

Carrot Halwa or Gajar Ka Halwa is a fabulous way to cook carrots. Shredded carrots cooked in milk infused with saffron and liberally dosed with ghee – can anything go wrong here? This will make a fine dessert for all your parties. And you can also make this carrot halwa in advance and store it in the fridge. Just microwave it a few minutes before serving and top it with slivered almonds and you are good to go!

Before i begin on the recipe , let me share a few things i have learned while making this sinful dessert over the years.

1. Buy the freshest carrots possible.
2. Pressure cooking the carrots for the halwa will not give you the authentic feel. I strongly recommend shredding the carrots. Its worth the effort. I used my trusted Philips Food Processor for this. But i used to manually shred them before.
3. Use full fat milk. Nothing more. Nothing less.
4. Saffron is optional but highly recommended
5. Cook the halwa on medium flame at all times.
6. Make sure you keep stirring every now and then to avoid burning or the halwa sticking to the bottom.
7. In case you dont have a pan like the one i have used, use a deep pressure pan.

So, shall we now check how to make Carrot Halwa step by step?

Wash, peel and chop the carrots. Shred the carrots finely.

Once done, heat a deep wide pan with 2 tbsp ghee. Add the shredded carrots and cook them until they just reduce in volume by 3/4th.

Now add the milk and mix well. From this point on, its all muscle power and waiting. Cook the carrots till the milk reduces to 1/2 its quantity.  When the milk begins to froth, add the cardamom powder and saffron along with ghee and continue cooking till it reduces to half its quantity.

Make sure you keep stirring this in between every one minute to avoid burning.You will know when its done when you find milk solids here and there. This takes approximately 15 mins

 Now, add the sugar and mix well. Continue cooking till the entire quantity is reduced to half. Again, do not stop stirring. This halwa is all about muscle power 😎 .This will take anywhere between 15 to 20 min. The halwa is done when you find the ghee oozing out from its sides.

If you continue to cook this further, you will have a solid halwa. But if you stop cooking it now, you will have a melt in the mouth almost semi solid texture when it cools down.

When this is done, heat a small pan with ghee. Add broken cashews and fry till golden. Drain and add to the halwa. In the same pan, add the raisins and fry till they plump up. Add them to the halwa along with the ghee and mix well.

Your carrot halwa is now ready.

Recipe For Carrot Halwa