Carrot Halwa Recipes

GAJAR KA HALWA | CARROT HALWA

Steps:

• First rinse, peel and then grate the carrots (8-9 medium sized tender juicy carrots), either with a hand held grater or in a food processor.
• You need approx 4 to 4.5 cups grated carrots.
• In a kadai or deep thick bottomed pan combine milk and grated carrots.
• On a low to medium flame, bring the whole mixture to a boil and then simmer.
• While the mixture is simmering on a low flame, keep on stirring in between.
• The grated carrots will cook in the milk and the milk will start to reduce and evaporate.
• When the milk has 75% reduced, add the ghee, sugar and powdered cardamom to the mixture.
• Stir well and continue to simmer and cook on a low flame.
• Do keep on stirring the halwa in between.
• Towards the end, add the cashews, almonds, saffron and raisins. Simmer the halwa till all the milk is evaporated. Switch off the burner.
• Serve gajar halwa hot, warm or you can also serve it cold. garnish with some chopped dry fruits while serving.

CARROT HALWA | GAJAR HALWA RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash carrots under running water & peel them.
• Grate them in a food processor or with a hand grater.
• Dry roast nuts on a low heat until crunchy, cool & chop them. OR Alternately chop the nuts first & fry them in 1 tbsp ghee until slightly golden. Then add raisins & fry until they plump up. Remove to a plate.
• Next bring milk to a boil in a heavy bottom pot or deep pan.
• Add grated carrots and cook on a medium heat stirring often.
• Do not leave the pot unattended as the milk will get scorched.
• When the milk has completely evaporated add sugar and stir well.
• Sugar will release lot of moisture & will make the entire carrot halwa gooey.
• Cook until half the moisture evaporates, then stir in the ghee.
• Saute the carrot halwa well in ghee until the moisture evaporates completely.
• When it is done gajar halwa turns aromatic & thickens. It will still be moist. Sprinkle cardamom powder.
• Garnish carrot halwa with nuts. Serve warm or chilled with Ice cream.
• Press the saute button and add 1 tbsp ghee to the steel insert of the IP.
• When it is hot fry the nuts until light golden.
• Then add in raisins if using. When they plump up remove to a plate.
• Then add in the carrots & saute for 2 to 3 mins stirring well.
• Pour 1 cup milk and mix well. Deglaze by scrubbing the bottom of the pot with a spatula.
• Secure the instant pot & position the steam release handle to sealing.
• Press the pressure cook (manual) button & set the timing to 3 mins.
• When the instant pot beeps and finishes, do a manual pressure release carefully.
• Stir in the sugar, ghee & cardamom powder.
• Press the saute button & saute until the milk evaporates completely.
• Garnish gajar halwa with chopped nuts & raisins.

CARROT HALWA

Steps:

• Peel and grate carrots.
• Put milk and carrots in a heavy saucepan.
• Boil till thick, stirring occasionally.
• Once it starts thickening, stir continuously.
• Add sugar and cook further till thickens.
• Add ghee, elaichi, saffron and colour.
• Stir on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball or the ghee oozes out.
• Serve hot, decorated with a chopped almond or pista.

HALWA CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• For the carrot cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-inch springform cake pan.
• In a bowl, whisk the oil, sugars, vanilla and egg together until combined.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, chai masala powder, baking powder and salt until well blended. Add the dry ingredients to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and add the carrots, nuts and dates. Turn the stand mixer on stir and gradually add the liquid ingredients until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top of the cake is springy when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Allow to cool.
• For the halwa: Add the milk, carrots, cardamom powder and saffron to a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat, then add the raisins and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk dries up and the raw smell of the carrot disappears, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the ghee to a small saute pan over medium heat and allow to melt. Add the almonds, cashews and pistachios and stir to coat in the ghee. Allow to toast, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
• Add the paneer, toasted nuts, condensed milk and granulated sugar to the pot with the milk mixture and stir to combine. Pour the mixture onto sheet trays to cool quickly, then refrigerate to cool completely.
• For the assembly: Remove the cake from the pan and split into two layers horizontally. Put 1 cake layer back into the springform pan to help with filling the cake. Put 1 cup of the whipped cream into a pastry bag and line the rim of the cake with whipped cream. Fill the middle of the cake with the halwa. Top with the remaining cake layer, then frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream. Garnish the cake with the pistachio dust, edible flowers and gold leaf. Slice and serve.

CARROT HALWA

Steps:

• Melt ghee in a saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots; cook and stir until soft, about 5 minutes. Add milk and bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.
• Combine water and sugar in a bowl; stir to dissolve. Add to the saucepan with the carrots. Stir in raisins and cardamom. Cook and stir until raisins are plumped and mixture is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

CARROT HALWA

Steps:

• Grate the carrots with the fine blade of your food processor or with a box grater.
• Melt the ghee in a stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat. Meanwhile, crush the cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle or with a heavy saucepan. Discard the papery pods and crush the seeds to a semi-fine powder. Add to the ghee and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Tumble the grated carrots into the scented ghee. Cook, stirring every now and then, until slightly deepened in color, about 3 minutes.
• Pour in the milk, sugar and a good pinch of salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Twist the lid in place and ensure it is sealed (refer to the manufacturer's guide for locking the lid). Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. Follow the guide again for quick-release of pressure, then carefully open and stand back!
• Place over high heat again. Stir in the powdered milk and currants and cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. The halwa should have a puddinglike consistency. Sprinkle with the pistachios and serve either warm or cold.

CARROT HALWA (GAJAR HALWA)

Steps:

• Put the carrots, pierced cardamom pods and milk in a heavy-based pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hr, stirring frequently until the milk has evaporated.
• Heat the butter in a deep pan, and stir-fry the carrot mixture for about 15-20 mins until darkened in colour and it has lost its wet, milky appearance.
• Add the sugar, raisins and almonds or pistachios, and stir-fry the halwa for another 5 mins. Serve hot. Will keep, covered in the fridge, for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to six months.

CARROT HALWA (CARROT DESSERT)

Steps:

• Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and milk; cook and stir until milk is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Add oil. Cook, stirring constantly, until carrots are softened and golden-orange, 7 to 10 minutes. Add sugar; cook and stir until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle cardamom on top.

CARROT HALWA / SWEET

Steps:

• Cook grated carrots with about a cup of milk till soft. You can do this in a thick bottomed pan. Once the milk starts boiling reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer.
• Add the rest of the milk and continue to simmer. After 15-20 minutes, when all the milk is evaporated, add condensed milk to the dry mixture and tip in the sugar as well. Check the amount of sugar , you may require very less sugar as condensed milk is very sweet in itself. Let it simmer till condensed milk also is absorbed and mixture thick.
• Add cardamom powder and mix well.
• The next step is optional. In an another deep pan heat ghee, transfer cooked halwa to it and cook for another minute making sure you stir it with out fail all the way through.
• To serve: - Chop raw almonds, vertically if u can as it looks better that way, and layer them at the bottom of your presenting dish. Layer your halwa on top. This makes the almonds soak in the lovely juices from ur halwa and combines the mixture. This is a tip I learned from my dear friend A. Thanks dear. :-). Feel free to sprinkle a few chopped almonds on top of ur halwa too. - While serving scoop out large portions of ur halwa on to ur serving dish and serve it hot along with a scoop of yummy vanilla ice cream. Heaven!!!
• For an easy microwave method, heat ghee in a MWO safe bowl for 1 minute and add grated carrot. Cook for 2 minutes. Add milk and cook till milk evapourates, stirring occasionally. When the mixture thickens, add condensed milk and sugar. Again cook for another few minutes till mixture turns thick once again. Remove from MWO, add cardamom powder, garnish with almonds and serve.
• A variation to the recipe is adding khoa or grated paneer. I personally do not prefer this as the end result is ever so slightly too sour to my palate.