A traditional gajar ka halwa: grated carrots slowly simmered in milk, then cooked with ghee, sugar and cardamom and finished with almonds and pistachios.
Gajar ka halwa is a slow-cooked pudding of grated carrots, milk, ghee and sugar, scented with cardamom. In North India it is the dessert of winter, when sweet red Delhi carrots fill the markets, and of weddings and Diwali.
It needs patience more than skill: most of the time, the carrots are simply simmering in milk.
Which carrots?
In India the halwa is made with long, deep-red winter carrots, which are juicier and sweeter. Ordinary orange carrots work well; choose the sweetest you can find and grate them finely. A food processor’s grating disc saves a lot of time.
Milk, khoya or condensed milk?
Simmering in whole milk is traditional and gives a soft, creamy halwa. Some cooks add khoya (milk solids cooked down until thick) for richness, or use sweetened condensed milk as a shortcut. If you use condensed milk, cut the sugar right down.
Make it ahead
Halwa keeps in the fridge for four or five days and reheats well with a spoonful of milk. Many people think it tastes better on the second day.
Other sweets on our menu
Alongside carrot halwa we serve gulab jamun (warm milk dumplings in syrup), double ka meetha (Hyderabad’s bread pudding) and mango kheer.
Recipe
Gajar ka halwa, the carrot pudding
Ingredients
Halwa
- 2 lb (900 g) carrots, peeled and finely grated
- 4 cups (1 litre) whole milk
- 4 tbsp ghee
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar, or to taste
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tbsp golden raisins (optional)
To finish
- 2 tbsp slivered almonds
- 2 tbsp chopped pistachios
- 2 tbsp cashews, halved (optional)
Method
- Simmer in milk. Put the carrots and milk in a heavy, wide pan and bring to the boil. Simmer over medium heat, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom, until almost all the milk has been absorbed, 45–60 minutes.
- Fry in ghee. Add the ghee and keep cooking and stirring for 8–10 minutes. The halwa will darken, smell nutty and start to come away from the sides of the pan.
- Sweeten. Stir in the sugar. It will melt and loosen the halwa; keep cooking for 8–10 minutes until it is thick and glossy again.
- Flavour. Add the cardamom and raisins. Fry the nuts in a teaspoon of ghee in a small pan until golden.
- Serve. Scatter the nuts over the halwa and serve warm, plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Home-style recipe from the Biryani Pot Indian Bar & Grill Journal. It is not our restaurant's own recipe; for that, visit us.