Gajar Ka Halwa – Punjabi Sweet Carrot Halwa | Gajar Halwa With Khoya
Gajar Ka Halwa
Gajar Ka Halwa is the most relished Indian dessert from the land of Punjab. Hot and rich Carrot Halwa is just irresistible during cold winter months. This delightful carrot recipe combines grated carrots, ghee, milk, sugar, khoya and nuts, not to speak of the distinctive Punjabi flavour.
Gajar Ka Halwa
Punjabi Gajar Ka Halwa is the ultimate Indian sweet. Nothing could be more perfect than tucking into a bowl of hot carrot halwa, garnished with slivers of almonds and pistachios on a cold wintry day. Definitely warms the cockles of your heart!
You can store homemade Gajar Halwa in an air tight container and refrigerate for a week. Just pop the halwa into the microwave before serving and it tastes like it
You can store homemade Gajar Halwa in an air tight container and refrigerate for a week. Just pop it into the microwave before serving and it tastes like it’s freshly made. Or you can also serve it cold.
Gajar Ka Halwa Recipe:
Gajar Halwa
To make this sweet Indian carrot pudding the traditional way, firstly wash, peel and grate carrots.
Grate carrots
Next heat 1 tbsp ghee in a heavy pan and fry the raisins followed by cashewnuts. Remove.
Fry dry fruits
Then add an additional 4 tbsp of ghee to the pan. Tip in the thickly grated carrots and sauté on a medium flame for about 25 minutes till the raw smell disappears, while stirring continuously. The colour of the carrots changes and it’s almost cooked.
Saute grated carrots
Add 1 cup milk and simmer the grated carrots until the milk starts to reduce. This takes about 15 minutes and the liquid evaporates and the mixture becomes almost dry. Keep stirring in-between to prevent the carrots from sticking to the pan.
Simmer carrots in milk
Stir in sugar and cook till the gajar halwa turns a lovely reddish colour.
Mix in sugar
Mix in the grated khoya and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add Khoya
Next sprinkle cardamom powder. Drizzle 3 tbsp. of ghee on top and combine well
Gajar Ka Halwa Punjabi style is traditionally slow cooked, the delicious aroma wafting in the air, with everyone just plain impatient to slurp up the heavenly dish made with just a few ingredients. The onset of winter is welcomed with a hot bowl of Carrot Halwa. Indian carrot pudding is usually made for festivals or celebration or cooked during winter for its warmth. Whatever the reason, the best way to enjoy Indian dessert carrot halwa is to try it! The darkish red, sweet and juicy winter carrots give the Punjabi Gajrela a deeper colour and a unique taste that the regular carrots fail to give. Needless to say, Carrot Halva is my favourite Indian sweet dish.
Course Dessert, Sweet
Cuisine Punjabi
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 45 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour
Servings 8
Calories 103kcal
Author Shil
Ingredients
Carrots – 5 cups,grated
Khoya – 100 gms,grated
Raisins – 3 tbsp
Cashewnuts – 3 tbsp
Ghee – 7 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Sugar – 8 tbsp
Milk – 1 cup
Cardamom powder – 1 ½ tsp
Instructions
To cook carrot halwa at home, wash, trim the ends and peel the carrots. Use a hand grater to grate the carrots. You can also use a food processor but make sure not to over pulverize them! Grate the khoya (mava) and keep aside.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Sauté raisins till they plump up. Remove. Fry cashewnuts till golden brown. Remove, cool and chop coarsely.
Add some ghee to the pan. Tip in the grated carrots and sauté on a low-medium flame till the raw smell disappears. This takes about 20-25 minutes.
Pour in a cup of milk and mix well. Cook the carrots, for about 15 minutes till the mixture absorbs the milk and starts to come together. Stir in between to prevent the milk from forming a film.
Mix in the sugar and cook over a slow flame for about 5-7 minutes till the halwa thickens considerably.
Add the grated khoya and sauté the carrot ka halwa for a couple of minutes more.
Add cardamom powder, raisins and cashewnuts. Drizzle some desi ghee on top, mix well and cook for a further 5 minutes till the carrot halwa starts leaving the sides and takes on a glossy sheen.
Remove and transfer into a serving dish. Serve mava flavoured gajar ka halwa hot.
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