GAJAR HALWA (CARROT HALWA)

Carrot (Gajar) Halwa is a sweet treat traditionally made in the Northern Parts of India during winters. Winters are laden with bright red carrots (Delhi Carrots), which are used to make the halwa. Red carrots give carrot halwa its signature colour, and they tend to be just a little bit sweeter than orange carrots. However, I have prepared this using orange carrots, and I could not find any difference. It was delicious, and within minutes it was over. This recipe takes under 45 minutes, while the traditional method of cooking gajar halwa is more lengthy.

I had bought khova a few days back, and I wanted to make something using that. I also wanted to do something that was quick, and easy. So, I landed on this dish. The only painstaking job here is to grate the carrots. If you have a food processor, you can use that to grate carrots. I don’t use a food processor, so I did them by hand. Nevertheless, if your carrots are nice and crispy, you can grate them with ease. Apart from that, this dish requires very minimal work. We sauté the carrots until their raw aroma disappears, and then we add khova/khoya/mawa and sugar and let it liquify under the heat. This forms a rich thick sauce like carrot mixture. At this point, we can add in dry fruits of our choice. Soon, it will solidify, and we get a heavenly gajar halwa. I used Milky Mist Khova for the recipe.

Print

5 from 1 vote

Gajar Halwa / Carrot Halwa

Gajar halwa is a dessert popular in North India during winters. It is best served hot, and can also be served with vanilla ice cream.

Prep Time5 mins

Active Time30 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: carrot, gajar, halwa, khova, khoya, mawa

Yield: 6 People

Materials

• 3 Cups Grated Carrot
• 2/3 Cup Unsweetened Khova
• 1/2 Cup Sugar Adjust according to taste
• 2 tbsp Butter or ghee
• 3-4 Cardamom Or 1/2 tsp cardamom powder.
• 1/4 Cup Dry fruit garnishes

Instructions

• Grate the carrots and keep them ready.
  
• In a heavy bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoons ghee or butter.
  
• Add the carrots, and saute on low flame until the raw aroma of carrots disappear.
  
• The previous step will take around 10 minutes. The carrots will also look like they have reduced in volume by this point.
  
• To this, add the crumbled khova and sugar. Adjust sugar according to taste, and reduce the amount if you are using sweetened khova.
  
• Let the khova and sugar melt and mix with the carrots until they start forming a liquid. At this point, add your desired garnishes and cardamom powder. Mix well, and take it off the heat after 2-3 minutes. Once its taken off the heat, it will start thickening. Carrot halwa is now ready for serving.
  

Notes

1. For my garnishes, I used cashews and raisins. You can also add pistachios and melon seeds. It is upto you, and you can also go without any garnishing.