The dish that would give content to every Punjabi’s heart is the warm heated gajar ka halwa. Gajar ka halwa is a sweet dish that is drenched in milk and sugar. The sweet dish is prepared during special occasions and considered a nearly perfect post-dinner dessert. For creating the homemade Gajar ka halwa, minimal ingredients are required making it an easy dish for creation. Despite the restaurants providing delicious desserts, somewhere, it always seems that the home-cooked Gajar ka Halwa has a more tasty and enhanced flavor, which is made with affection and love.
A winter delicacy made with red carrots, milk, and sugar is not only delicious in every bite but can also be considered slightly healthy. The enormous amount of carrot, along with milk, provides nutrients to the body along with an edible flavor of sweetness. The pudding finds its origination in north India. Solely, Gajar ka halwa is a must-try dish, but it can also be paired with different food products such as ice cream.
Just like pickles, every household has a possibility of having their personalized recipe of Gajar Ka Halwa, probably with a variation of nuts, sugar quantity, etc. A general recipe of Gajar Ka Halwa is as follows:-
Ingredients Of Gajar Ka Halwa
8 – 9 medium-sized carrots (4 cups of carrots)
4 cups of full-fat milk
Four tablespoons of ghee
Ten tablespoons of sugar
One teaspoon of cardamom powder
Chopped nuts
Method Of Cooking
- After getting ten medium-sized carrots from the nearest market, rinse them properly first before doing any other work.
- After cleaning, peel 7 – 8 medium-sized carrots and grate them either with a handheld grater or food processor. Both would be convenient tools to work with. One should be able to obtain 4 cups of carrot quickly.
- All the proper grating, the carrot should be put in a heavy Kadai and put on 4 cups full-fat milk on the carrots.
- Switch on the gas and keep the flame on medium heat. Gently stir the grated carrots and milk together for proper blending.
- Allow the mixture to cook on low to the medium flame, which would lead to the production of froth and, after that, slowly reduces the flame. The mixture will look like a halwa, which needs to be stirred at regular intervals to prevent it from sticking to the bottom and burning. The sides are consisting of the evaporated milk substantial need to scraped and stirred in the mixture.
- Allow the cooking of the halwa on the gas until the milk s reduced to 1/3rd of the original quantity.
- Afterward, add in 4 tablespoons of ghee to the halwa with minimal milk and mix very well.
- Comes the generous sweetness, add ten tablespoons of sugar, cardamom powder in the halwa and again, mix.
- Now, make sure that the halwa is on simmer on a low flame for a good time for the reduction of the milk further, which would lead to the thickening of the halwa mixture.
- When little milk was left, and a pudding consistency is achieved, any chopped nuts can be added to the mixture.
- Keep the mixture on the heat till wholly dried. When the solids of the food are visible, the food wanted is achieved.
- Garnish with chopped nuts and serve warm.
Pointers To Keep In Mind
– Don’t fry the carrots before the addition of milk as they can turn dark in color and would give a distasteful flavor to the dish.
– The stirring and mixing of the food must be done correctly so that a halwa texture is created.
– the grating of the carrots should not be too thin as it could make the halwa too mushy and less appetizing
– A gajar ka halwa can be made in small batches with a wholesome quantity that is difficult to handle.
