Gajar ka Halwa Recipe

Gajar ka Halwa Recipe

From: India

By: Himanshu Jana

Gajar ka Halwa is a beautiful and delicious Indian dessert with a rich, creamy texture and a sweet, aromatic flavor. Made with grated carrots, milk, sugar, and ghee (clarified butter). It is often flavored with cardamom, raisins, and nuts such as almonds or pistachios. 

Don't fret if you cannot find mawa (dried evaporated milk solids) in your grocery store. Himanshu says the recipe will still be incredible without it! But be sure to pay attention to his tips on roasting the grated carrots as it is essential to the amazing flavor of this dish.

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  • Prep Time

    Less than 10 min

  • Cook Time

    Less than 1 hour

  • Serves

    5+

  • Meal Type

    Dessert

  • Dietary Stuff

    Contains Dairy

  • Difficulty

    Easy - Common Ingredients & Basic Skills

1 6

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How to Prepare Gajar ka Halwa

Ingredients:

2.2 lb carrots
2 cups sugar
1 can condensed milk
½ cup cashew nuts
1/3 cup almonds
1/2 cup raisins
½ tsp saffron
2 cardamom
5 tbsp clarified butter
½ cup mawa

Instructions:

Chop nuts and mawa into small pieces.

Use food processor or grater to finely grate carrots.

Roast shredded carrots in non-stick pan for 10-12 minutes on medium heat.

After carrot releases all the moisture and starts to dry up, add the clarified butter. Keep stirring.

Add sugar and raisins. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Add nuts, mawa, cardamom, and condensed milk to the mixture. Cook another 15 minutes.

Lastly, add saffron to give dish a nice, rich color.

How to Serve Gajar ka Halwa

This sweet dessert should be served in small quantities, with chopped nuts and raisins on top.

Tips for Making this Gajar ka Halwa Recipe

You can reduce the sugar quantity accordingly if you want to keep the sweetness in check.

Mawa is difficult to find in grocery stores. You can certainly make the dish without the mawa, make your own, or use sweetened condensed milk instead!

What is Gajar ka Halwa in English?

Gajar ka Halwa can be translated to "Carrot Halwa" or "Carrot Pudding" in English.

Gajar ka Halwa is a traditional Indian dessert made with grated carrots, clarified butter or ghee, milk, and sugar. It is often garnished with nuts such as almonds and pistachios and flavored with cardamom and saffron.

What Does Gajar ka Halwa Taste Like?

Gajar ka Halwa tastes warm, comforting, and indulgent- perfect for satisfying a sweet tooth. It is a velvety smooth and rich dessert with a creamy texture and a deep, golden color. It has a sweet, nutty and slightly earthy flavor, with a subtle hint of cardamom and saffron.

The grated carrots add a tender, mildly sweet taste to the dish, while the nuts and mawa give it a crunchy texture and add to the overall richness of the halwa.

Which Carrot is Good for Halwa?

Red carrots are traditionally used in Gajar ka Halwa because they are vibrant orange and naturally sweet.

However, you can also use other varieties of carrots such as yellow or white carrots to make the halwa. These carrots may not be as sweet as red carrots, so you may need to adjust the amount of sugar used in the recipe. In general, it is best to use fresh, high-quality carrots that are firm and have a smooth, unblemished skin to get the best results in your Gajar ka Halwa.

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