My first blog this year and so glad I am starting on a sweet note ❤️ I have a special relation with sweets, my name Mitha meaning sweet in Hindi, my best friends call me Ladoo and most of all, I can’t resist any kind of sweets. 😍 Be it our authentic Konkani godshe, payasams from Kerala, kesari from Tamil Nadu, Mysore pak, gulab jamun and all milk based sweets too.. I can just go on and on.. 😀 Being in Qatar since more than 12 years now, Arabic sweets have a special place in my heart ( and tummy 😅) too ❤️
Since I am such an ardent fan of sweets, I have learned to make many at home over the years. Have shared most of the recipes here on the blog. One sweet dish that I make regularly specially during winters is this Carrot halwa or lovingly called as Gajar ka halwa 😍 I rarely eat this dessert from outside and I truly love the way I make my halwa ❤️
So here’s sharing this easy yet finger licking delicious recipe with all of you so that you can try at home too. Dedicating this to all sweet lovers like me ❤️ Happy and healthy cooking ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { Makes about 4 half cup servings }
1 Cup = 240 ml
2 Cups Grated Carrot
1/2 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Jaggery powder
3 Tbsp Ghee
About 5 to 7 Cashews
About 8 to 10 raisins
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Take carrots, cut off the ends, wash and peel them. Grate using a grater. I took two large carrots and it gave me 2 Cups of carrot gratings. Keep it aside.
2. Heat a thick bottomed pan. Add 1 Tbsp Ghee and add chopped cashews and raisins. Fry on medium flame till cashews turn light brown and raisins plump up. Remove it onto a plate.
3. Now heat the rest of the ghee (adding around 2 Tbsp more). Add the grated Carrots and fry continually for 5 to 7 minutes till the rawness of carrots goes away.
4. Add milk and cook the carrots in milk for about 10 mins till the milk gets absorbed by the carrots. Keep the flame on medium to low always, mixing every couple of minutes.
5. When the milk gets absorbed well by the carrots, it looks like this.
6. Now add jaggery powder to this.
7. Mix well and let the carrots absorb the jaggery. Cook on medium flame till the mixture turns thick.
8. After about 10 mins, the mixture looks like this. It’s perfect halwa and you can remove the pan from the flame now.
9. Add the halwa to the fried cashews and raisins. Also add cardamom powder. Mix well. Halwa is ready.
10. Serve warm halwa. Tastes delicious in this cold weather ❤️
Notes:
* I have used orange carrots as they are easily available here but you can also use the red carrots which are regularly used to make carrot halwa.
* Three most important points while making this halwa is:
1. Fry the carrots well in ghee till the rawness of the carrots goes away. This is a very important step else the carrots will have a raw flavour.
2. Secondly make sure the milk is absorbed fully by the carrots before adding jaggery. Else the jaggery can curdle the milk (depending on the brand). Also the flame should be from medium to low while the carrots are cooked in milk, else milk can stick to the bottom of the pan..
3. Thirdly, when jaggery is added, the mixture will become liquidy but keep cooking on medium flame till the mixture thickens and the jaggery is well absorbed by the carrots.
* Don’t skip cardamom powder. Gives a wonderful flavour to the carrot halwa.
* I also make refined sugar free Dates Carrot Halwa. You can try that too if you don’t want to use jaggery as well.
* Another unique sweet that I make with Carrots are Dates Carrot Puranpoli or Ubbatti. Tastes really delicious.
* I usually make sweets which takes 15 mins or less time to make. Have compiled all the recipes together in a page. You can check that :
Healthy cooking with Mitha 