Gajar Halwa

Gajar Halwa by Chinskitchen

Gajar Halwa also known as Carrot Halwa is a sweet Indian pudding made with carrots,sugar,sweet spice, nuts and either Khoya,condense milk or cream to give it that rich creamy taste. Now a days there are many variations to this cherished dessert dish such as addition of coconut, dried fruit etc. This Gajar Halwa recipe is one of my Hubby’s recipe, he usually makes it nut free due to his allergies and uses milk rather than cream or condense milk. I first tried this a few years ago and loved it, during my second pregnancy this was one dessert I used to crave and bless him he used to make it for me no matter what time it was, one of the days it was 11pm ooops but I guess you have to satisfy your cravings especially during pregnancy : ) . Yesterday we hosted our first Diwali dinner and this was one of many desserts I had made, it definitely went down a treat.

This is yet another made from scratch recipe for Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior.

Gajar Halwa

Serves- 4-6
Preparation time: 15minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

800g grated carrots
250g Granulated sugar can substitute for sweetener if required, alternatively can reduce amount of sugar used.
600ml Full fat milk
1 Tsp Ground cardamom
20 Strands Saffron
3/4 Tsp Ground nutmeg
25g Butter
Chopped pistachios and almonds- optional

Method:
1. In a wide non stick pan, pour milk, add spices and carrots and bring to boil(on high heat) stirring continuously to prevent milk sticking and burning.
2. Continue stirring till mixture starts to thicken approx 15-20 minutes.
3. Add butter and stir in for another minute, then add sugar ( nuts can be added at this stage) and continue stirring for approx 5 minutes until mixture is semi firm.
4. Turn off the gas and transfer halwa into a serving dish to cool.

Serving Idea: When ready to serve, warm the halwa, use an ice cream scoop to scoop out halwa and present in a dish, serve with ice-cream or cream.