Gajar ka Halwa / Gajrela / Carrot Halwa

Carrot halwa is also known as Gajrela. Its simply a irresistable & delicious dessert among all Indian desserts. It is not less than a treat.. carrot halwa is made across  India for all the occasions and festivals.It is a traditional halwa from the lap of Punjab. This halwa carries a lot of ghee, mawa & sugar. Last but not the list its flavored with cardamom powder.

 

 

The fully loaded gajar ka halwa is very rich , creamy and luscious. Some puts cream in this halwa to make it more yummy. no doubt, Mawa makes the halwa more delicious but this can be prepared without mawa. In this recipe I used full fat milk and noler gur (date palm jaggery). For no reason , just to make it winter special.

Date palm jaggery is only available in winter  & makes everything spectacular . You can replace  the jaggery with sugar or normal sugarcane jaggery. I used more amount of milk, so that the milk will reduce and  tastes like Rabri. Belive me, you  gonna to love this recipe. And the best thing is you can keep the halwa in a freeze proof box for a week and can ve any time by reheating in a microwave.

 

 

I personally prefer red carrots to make this halwa.Again the red  carrots are only available in winters. Its juicy and tender, also gives a nice colour to the halwa. But in case the red carrots are not available or when its off season you can go for regular carrots.

Carrot halwa can be served as a cold dessert and as a warm dessert. Carrot halwa is served with rabri i.e. reduced thickened milk. The both combination is finger licking and  gives a nice accompaniment in winter dinner night.

INGREDIENTS ::

Grated Red carrot – 2 cups

Milk –  500 ml

Cardamom – 3 no

Date palm jaggery – 1 cup

Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp

Blanched almonds – 1 tbsp

Ghee – 4 tbsp

METHOD OF PREPARATION ::

Before grating carrot, clean,peel the carrot and trim the edges.

Grate carrot using a grater.

Chop  both cashew and almonds. You can add while making halwa or use in garnishing.

Heat ghee in a pan, when its hot, roast the cashew and keep aside.

In the same oil add grated carrot and stir.

Keep the flame low and keep stirring the grated carrot atleast for 10-15 minutes, till its raw smell evaporate.

It’s a important step of making a delicious halwa. The colour of the halwa will  changed and the carrots will turn soft.

In this step Add milk and cardamom powder.

Keep the flame high, when milk boils ,add salt and reduce the flame to low.

Stir occasionally so that milk doesn’t stick to the bottom. Do not cover it.

Let the carrot cooked in milk and absorb the flavor. And the whole mixture becomes completely dry.

Add gur or sugar and mix once.

You will notice the halwa once again become liquefied.

Keep cooking till the entire mixture  leave the side of the pan and will be sticky. Add chopped nuts and mix well. Now the entire halwa will come together.

Cook for few minutes more.

Remove from flame, serve cold or warm.

 

TIPS :

You can add sugar if you wish.

Taste the halwa before adding nuts , adjust the sweetness as per your preference.

You can add tsp of desi ghee at the time of adding nuts.

Don’t be hurry while roasting grated carrot in the hot ghee, it will not tyasyes good.