Carrot Halwa | Gajar Halwa

Delicious carrot halwa recipe made at home using Delhi red carrots, a specialty of the winter season. Decadent carrot halwa recipe!

Winter is slowly slipping away from us and here in my part of the world, days are getting hotter and nights very sultry. Can't believe we are only at the end of February but the temperatures are soaring at mid-30s during the day, even in Bangalore. Sigh. Global warming is very real and it is getting onto us faster than ever. We all need to do our bit to save this planet and now is the time. Anyway, I digress.

With summer slowly creeping onto us, I am going to miss the fresh winter produce. Like fresh green peas. Like juicy red Delhi carrots. But then, we would soon get delicious mangoes 🙂 Before it is too late, I wanted to share some seasonal recipes. Last week I shared Matar Kachori and this week, it is this absolutely delightful carrot halwa.

 Carrot Halwa is such a simple dessert that is made across almost every household in India and almost everyone has their own family recipe. The one I am sharing today is how my mom makes it and I love it so much. We never used to get Delhi carrots (those that are long and red in color) back during my childhood and we used regular orange carrots. Yesterday when I could lay my hands on some good red carrots, I made this up and we enjoyed it quite a lot as our special Sunday dessert.

How to make Carrot Halwa

📖 Recipe

Carrot Halwa | Gajar Halwa

Ramya

Warm comforting bowl of delicious Carrot Halwa!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Desserts, Sweets

Cuisine South Indian

Servings 4 people

MEASUREMENT

1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups Grated Carrots From 2 large red carrots
• ▢ 2 cups Milk Boiled and cooled down
• ▢ 7 tablespoon Sugar
• ▢ 3 teaspoon Ghee/Clarified Butter 2 teaspoon + 1 tsp
• ▢ 2 Green Cardamoms
• ▢ 5 Almonds
• ▢ 5 Pistachios
• ▢ 5 Cashews

COOK MODEPrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

Prep Work –

• Grate carrots finely either using a manual grater or food processor.
• In a pan, heat 2 teaspoon of ghee. Add chopped almonds, cashews and pistachios.
• Fry until golden brown and remove them onto a bowl. Set aside.

How I made –

• In the same pan with leftover ghee, add grated carrots.
• On low flame, stir- fry and cook closed for 4-5 mins.
• As the carrots slightly change color, continue cooking until there is no moisture and carrots are cooked half way.
• Add 2 cups of milk and mix well. Continue cooking on low flame.
• As the mixture comes to boil, mix once and cook covered on low flame.
• After 30-35 mins of cooking on low flame, the mixture would reduce to half its original quantity.
• Add crushed green cardamoms and sugar.
• Mix well and the mixture turns slightly watery again.
• Continue cooking the mixture on low flame until it begins to come together. Stir occasionally.
• Add 1 teaspoon of ghee and keep stirring the mixture until it comes together.
• Add fried dry fruits and remove from heat.
• Serve hot as it as it. Alternatively can be served warm with Vanilla Ice Cream.
• Here is the detailed step by step picture tutorial for making Carrot Halwa –

Note –

• Adjust quantity of sugar as per sweet preference.
• It is important to cook the halwa at low flame at all times. Initially it helps preventing the milk from curdling and later it helps in yielding rich, smooth halwa.
• For longer shelf life, store in an airtight container in fridge.
• The halwa solidifies slightly after cooling down. Warm it again as needed for making it soft again.
• If red carrots are not available, regular carrots can be used.
• Choice of dry fruits is as per availability and preference.

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Carrot Halwa Recipe with Step by Step Pictures

Prep Work

1. Grate carrots finely either using a manual grater or food processor.

2. In a pan, heat 2 teaspoon of ghee. Add chopped almonds, cashews and pistachios.

3. Fry until golden brown and remove them onto a bowl. Set aside.

How I made

1. In the same pan with leftover ghee, add grated carrots.

2. On low flame, stir- fry and cook closed for 4-5 mins.

3. As the carrots slightly change color, continue cooking until there is no moisture and carrots are cooked half way.

4. Add 2 cups of milk and mix well. Continue cooking on low flame.

5. As the mixture comes to boil, mix once and cook covered on low flame.

6. After 30-35 mins of cooking on low flame, the mixture would reduce to half its original quantity.

7. Add crushed green cardamoms and sugar.

8. Mix well and the mixture turns slightly watery again.

9. Continue cooking the mixture on low flame until it begins to come together. Stir occasionally.

10. Add 1 teaspoon of ghee and keep stirring the mixture until it comes together.

11. Add fried dry fruits and remove from heat.

12. Serve hot as it as it. Alternatively can be served warm with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Recipe Notes

• Adjust quantity of sugar as per sweet preference.
• It is important to cook the halwa at low flame at all times. Initially it helps preventing the milk from curdling and later it helps in yielding rich, smooth halwa.
• For longer shelf life, store in an airtight container in fridge.
• The halwa solidifies slightly after cooling down. Warm it again as needed for making it soft again.
• If red carrots are not available, regular carrots can be used.
• Choice of dry fruits is as per availability and preference.

I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don't forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂