Carrot Halwa/Gajar Ka Halwa....step by step

Carrot Halwa or Gajar Ka Halwa is a simple carrot sweet dish. Carrots are simmered in milk and sugar till it is evaporated. My son loves this very much and yes I make this often for him. I usually grate it in my food processor and always use rich red color and juicy carrots which we get at this season.

I always add 3 or 4 green cardamons crushed and roasted (in ghee) cashewnuts and raisins.
The white spots you see on top is some silver balls I sprinkled before taking the picture :)

One thing I have noticed is that when you make the halwa with whole milk (full fat) you do not need to add extra ghee, but if you are using skimmed milk like I did for this post, then you need to add a little bit of ghee. But if you compare skimmed milk halwa and whole milk halwa....I'd choose the whole milk because you can see tiny weeny bits of khoya in the halwa and ghee from the whole milk itself makes it more juicy and tasty. I have included a picture of whole milk halwa at the end of this post.

Ingredients:
Fresh carrots: 1 kg, grated.
Sugar: 2 cups. (if you do not like too sweet then reduce by half cup, I am on the sweeter side).
Milk: 1 litre, if using whole milk no need to add ghee).
Ghee: 1 tbsp.(optional, only use if using skimmed milk)
Cahewnuts and rasins: 1 tbsp each. (optinal)
Crushed cardamon: 1 tsp.

Method:
1.Wash and scrap the carrots

2. Grate the carrots in a food processor or by hand held grater.

3. Put the carrots in a large deep bottomed pan along with milk and sugar. Bring it to a boil and put the fire on medium (keep an eye on it coz the milk might boil over).

4. When the milk is almost evaporated...

5. Add the crushed cardamon. Fry the cahsewnuts and raisins in ghee and pour it in.

Again mix well for another 10 to 15 min or until the milk has evaporated completely. Allow it to cool. And served chilled or at room temp.

You can also serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream but I like it to be served on its own.

Now about the full fat or whole milk halwa, like I mentioned earlier you need not add ghee or any dry fruits to it, though adding dry fruits is a personal choice, ofcourse cardamon gives that distinct flavor. Yesterday I made with whole milk and I took a close up pic to show the koya granules in the halwa. Though there is not a bit of ghee in the halwa, it is a bit chewy, glossy, and sticky as though I have poured tons of ghee (clarified butter) into it. Also I did not add any dry fruits...so you could call it a plain Jane!.