Traditional Carrot Halwa Recipe

February 9, 2019

Carrot halwa or gajar halwa recipe. a traditional slow-cooked recipe of making delicious carrot halwa with just carrots, milk, ghee, sugar and some dry fruits.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Total Time1 hr 40 mins

Course: desserts, sweets

Cuisine: north Indian, punjabi

Servings: 6

Calories: 324kcal

Author: dassana

Ingredients

8 to 9 medium tender juicy carrots or 650 grams (gajar) – yields approx 4 to 4.5 cups grated carrots
4 cups full fat organic milk
4 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
10 to 12 tablespoons regular sugar or organic unrefined cane sugar OR 180 to 190 grams sugar – add as required
5 to 6 green cardamom (choti elaichi) – powdered finely in a mortar-pestle or about ⅓ to 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
10 to 12 whole cashews (kaju) – chopped
10 to 12 almonds – sliced or chopped
2 tablespoons golden raisins (kishmish)
1 pinch saffron strands (kesar) – optional

Instructions

Preparation for carrot halwa

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.

Making carrot halwa

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 gajar halwa in between.
Towards the end, add the cashews, almonds, saffron and raisins. simmer carrot 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.