Gajar ka Halwa

Gajar ka Halwa

serving warm Gajar ka Halwa in shot glasses with scoop of Vanilla ice-cream. You also can serv with hot Gulabjambu

Gajar ka halwa, also known as gajrela, gajar pak, and carrot halwa

Gajar ka Halwa (gajrela) is the perfect dessert to make for any celebration.

This is a carrot-based sweet dessert pudding from the Indian subcontinent. It is made by placing grated carrots in a pot containing a specific amount of milk and sugar, cardamom and then cooking while stirring regularly.

The carrot halwa recipe can be made in different ways.

The most common and traditional way is to cook the grated carrot in full cream milk and add mawa grate at the end.

One of the popular variants is carrot halwa made with condensed milk.

Moreover, you may also make it in a Pressure Cooker, but there is a risk of overcooking it.

This recipe is made in an Instant Pot and while it is much faster.

You also can make on stovetop.

I usually cook traditional way on stovetop by cooking it in full cream milk. And add grate mawa at the end.

This recipe is made in an Instant Pot and while it is much faster than stovetop. It will still require a bit of time and patience as you’ll need to stir the carrots in ghee to fry them a bit, which adds great flavor.

In this recipe, I have used orange-coloured carrots as I do not have much access to the red carrots and it does not test the same as back home.

Ingredients:

3 cup grate carrots

¼ ghee

¾ cup sugar

10 Raisins

10 Cashew

10 Almonds

2 cup heavy milk

½ cup Mawa

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Instapot Recipe:

Peel the skin of carrot and grate finely than add the grated carrots, milk and ¼ cup water to the pot. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 1 minute at high pressure. Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure. Press sauté and add the sugar. Stir for 6-7 minutes, or until most of the liquid has reduced. Then, add the ghee and stir-fry the carrots for another 6-7 minutes, or until the carrots become dry and the ghee separates from the mixture. The carrots should look dark orange/reddish in color. Add the cardamom, Mawa and mix well. Garnish with chopped nuts and serve hot.

Stovetop Recipe

Peel the skin of carrot and grate finely. Keep aside. Traditionally, Red carrot is used to prepare halwa.

In a large skillet heat ghee and fry cashew and almonds.

Fry until it turns golden brown. keep aside.

In the same ghee add grated carrot and saute well. Saute for 5 minutes or until it changes colour slightly. Now pour milk and give a good stir. Let it boil for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Continue to boil until the carrots are cooked well and milk reduces. Once the milk thickens completely, add sugar and mix well and cook until the sugar dissolves and thickens. Cook until the halwa thickens and ghee releases from sides. Now turn off the flame and add Mawa, cardamom powder and fried nuts. Mix well making sure everything is well combined.

Finally, enjoy gajar ka halwa warm or chilled.

Notes:

Use a food processor to shred the carrots, it’s fast and easy.

If you are making this for a dinner party, serve a small portion of halwa with a large scoop of ice cream.

If you want to make this dairy-free, you can use full-fat coconut milk and coconut oil instead of ghee (I still have to try, but heard it won’t taste quite as good).

make it look grand and fancy I have served Gajar Halwa in short glasses made