I love gajjar (carrot) halwa try and make it at least once a
year. The recipe websites below (except for the last one) have got lower
calories and fat where as I like mine to be well creamy. Therefore the need limit
the amount of times I make and eat. Also I cannot make a small amount …. It ends
up being a whole big bowl full and lasts for a few servings. I also do not use
ghee which is recommended by many, not because it is not good for you but because
I find it hard to digest it.
My recipe is from memory of when my mother used to make it
for us. But she used to make it more like the ones shown in the websites above
but without nuts. I then adapted it to suit what I enjoy – rich and creamy! The
first time I made it I used about a kilo of carrots and put in fresh full fat
milk about 2 litres and added a fair amount of sugar too. I stood over the pan
and stirred it for hours to evaporate the milk and leave behind a well-cooked
creamy rich halwa. It took so long to get there that I was tired and could not
even think of tasting it after stirring it for hours. I sent a portion to my
sister’s to taste as this was my first attempt in making this.
I put it away to cool and thought I would have some next day
but my husband and his brother were to have some for dessert that evening. The
next day at lunch time I looked in the fridge to have my share but it was not
there. When asked, both the men looked sheepish….. they had scoffed the lot and
not even left a morsel for me! I called my sister to see if she had any halwa
left over. If so could I have a small portion back, to taste what I stood for
hours to make. I was hopping mad that the men had eaten it all without a
thought that after all the hard work maybe I should get at least a spoonful. Having
thrown a legitimate tantrum and sulked, my husband made some for me in a couple
of weeks and took a short cut by using condensed milk to reduce the cooking time.
He made it so well that it became his job to make it whenever I felt like some.
My nieces also requested that he make some for them while they were little.
·
Ingredients
6 largish carrots
A small tin of sweetened condensed milk
½ litre of full cream fresh milk
Teaspoon of cardamom seeds
Handful of nuts – almonds, pistachios, cashew (add whatever
you have handy)
Unsalted butter 5 one inch cubes (you can add more or less –
I usually just dig out a quarter of the pat of butter).
·
Preparation
Grate the carrots after washing them well. You can have it
as fine as you want. Generally coarse grating gives you something to chew on.
Chop the nuts coarsely and put aside.
Heat a pan and add butter in it. Before
it starts browning add the carrots. Stir the carrots to ensure all of it gets
coated with the butter and warms up nicely.
Then you can add the condensed milk
and the fresh milk. You can use a little hot water to get all the condensed
milk out of the can. You will have noticed that I am not using any sugar as the
condensed milk already has sugar plus the sweetness of carrot will be enough
for the dish.
You can add the nuts and the cardamom in the pan and bring it to
the boil. Then turn the heat down to medium and keep cooking until the liquid
all evaporates and leave behind a slightly moist creamy soft carrot. Generally
the fat from the milk and the butter can be seen as the glistening on the
halwa.
You can serve it hot or cold and garnish it with some nuts.
It must be remembered that you need to keep an eye on the halwa while it is cooking
and stir it regularly. It takes more than the recipes you will see in the urls I
have provided as there is more milk used.
Please do not forget that you have
this on the heat ….. something I did recently. I had a few more minutes of cooking
time left and I forgot to go back and take it off the heat. I ended up, after
spending time and energy doing the grating and stirring, burning it at the
bottom of the pan. While it is not totally inedible it certainly is not something
I could serve to guests. I have not ever done this before but in recent times I
have burnt food a couple of times as I just forgot to take it off the heat.
However please make some and enjoy. I find that even with a
huge bowl full nibbling a little after each meal is wonderful.
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