Gajar Halwa
Gajar halwa or carrot halwa is a delicious, rich, and creamy dessert. It is a traditional Indian sweet made with red carrots, mawa, milk, sugar, and cardamom powder. It is also known as Gajrela. It is a traditional North Indian sweet dish, especially made during winter as ample red carrots are available in the market.
Gajar halwa can be made with regular carrots as well which are available all year around. Definitely the taste will vary as red carrots are sweeter and juicier than regular carrots. I made this halwa with regular carrots as red carrots are not available near me 😞
It is a perfect dessert to serve at any festival or celebration. This sweet dish can be enjoyed either hot or cold. My family enjoys eating warm carrot halwa with some vanilla ice cream as well. Yummm!!
Gajar halwa is usually made with khoya/mawa – It is a dairy product made by thickening the milk. I have made this gajar halwa using low fat milk and milk powder, which makes it a perfect low fat/lighter version of gajar halwa.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Carrots
- Low fat milk
- Low fat milk powder
- Sugar
- Cardamom powder
- Ghee
- Pistachios
- Cashew nuts
Gajar Halwa Step By Step Recipe
For Mawa
In a deep bowl, add milk powder and 3 tbsp milk. Mix well and cook the mixture in the microwave for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. If you don’t have a microwave then cook it on the stovetop stirring continuously for about 2 minutes until it thickens.
For Halwa
Wash and peel the carrots and grate them with a box grater/food processor. Set them aside.
In a pan, melt some ghee and add grated carrots. Mix well and cook them covered on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir well and cook for 3-4 more minutes in a similar way.
Add some milk in the mixture, mix well, and cover it with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell of carrots is gone.
Add mawa to the carrots mixture. Cook for 2 minutes and add sugar, cardamom powder, and dry fruits. Cover it with the lid and cook for 3 minutes on low heat.
Stir it well and cook for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens.
Garnish with few chopped pistachios and serve.
Variations
- Instead of using milk powder, you can use store bought, 100 grams of mawa/khoya while making gajar halwa.
- You can use full fat milk powder along with whole milk in the recipe as well. It will be more rich and tasty.
- Adjust the sugar quantity according to your taste. You may add, 1-2 tbsp extra sugar in the recipe as well.
- Add some more ghee or 2 tbsp ghee in the recipe if you wish. You can fry dry fruits in the ghee and keep them aside before adding grated carrots in the ghee.
How To Store Gajar Halwa?
It can be stored in the refrigerator for about 8 days in an airtight container.Â
You can easily store the gajar halwa in a freezer for about 3 months. Take out the required portion and warm it in the microwave or thaw it on the countertop for 2 hours before serving.
How To Serve Gajar Halwa ?
Enjoy the halwa on its own, hot or cold.Â
Serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream or malai kulfi as a dessert on special occasions.
You can serve gajar halwa along with poori and potato dry sabzi or with any curry on festivals. Halwa poori is a very popular dish.
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Gajar Halwa
Ingredients
For Mawa
- 1/2 cup Milk powder low fat
- 3 tbsp Milk low fat
For Halwa
- 500 grams Carrots 7-8 medium
- 1/2 cup Milk low fat
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
- 2 tsp Ghee
- 5-6 Pistachios
- 5-6 Cashew nuts
Instructions
For Mawa
- In a deep bowl, add milk powder and 3 tbsp milk. Mix well and cook the mixture in the microwave for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. If you don’t have a microwave then cook it on the stovetop stirring continuously for about 2 minutes until it thickens.
For Halwa
- Wash and peel the carrots and grate them with a box grater/food processor. Set them aside.
- In a pan, melt some ghee and add grated carrots. Mix well and cook them covered on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir well and cook for 3-4 more minutes in a similar way.
- Add some milk in the mixture, mix well, and cover it with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell of carrots is gone.
- Add mawa to the carrots mixture. Cook for 2 minutes and add sugar, cardamom powder, and dry fruits. Cover it with the lid and cook for 3 minutes on low heat.
- Stir it well and cook for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens.
- Garnish with few chopped pistachios and serve.
Notes
- Instead of using milk powder, you can use store bought, 100 grams of mawa/khoya while making gajar halwa.
- You can use full fat milk powder along with whole milk in the recipe as well. It will be more rich and tasty.
- Adjust the sugar quantity according to your taste. You may add, 1-2 tbsp extra sugar in the recipe as well.
- Add some more ghee or 2 tbsp ghee in the recipe if you wish. You can fry dry fruits in the ghee and keep them aside before adding grated carrots in the ghee.
- Make sure carrots are cooked soft and raw smell is gone or else halwa will not taste good.Â
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