Gajar ka halwa (carrot halwa)
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- over 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 4
- Dietary
- Gluten-freeVegetarian
Gajar ka halwa is an aromatic Indian pudding, consisting of slow-cooked carrots, cardamom, cashews and raisins.
Ingredients
- 1.2 litres/2 pints full-fat milk
- 1kg/2lb 4oz carrots, peeled and grated
- 300g/10½oz caster sugar
- 1 tsp green cardamom powder
- 3 tbsp ghee or butter
- generous handful cashews, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp raisins
- clotted cream or ice cream, to serve
Method
Heat the milk in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Keep stirring, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. As the volume reduces, scrape the sides of the pan, too.
Add the grated carrots and continue cooking for 30 minutes more. Stir well. Add the sugar and continue cooking for another 30–35 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the halwa thickens. Stir in the cardamom and turn off the heat.
Heat the ghee in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cashews and fry for 10–15 seconds. Add the raisins and cook until they begin to puff up, then pour over the warm carrot halwa. Serve warm with clotted cream or ice cream.
