Gajar Ka Halwa

I always think of ‘Gajar ka Halwa‘ when it comes to any authentic Indian sweet dish!!!

Few years back, I remember an evening when my mum got a bunch of carrots from market. She mostly uses them in salads or pickles or in making of any side dish usually! But dad saw that and demanded ‘Gajar ka Halwa’. You obviously know how tempting those carrots in pure red color :) Unfortunately, I don’t get such carrots here… but it’s not too bad :) I can’t expect the same sweetness here :( :( :(

Ohhh… so I was talking about my dad’s demand! Mum is an orthopedic patient for long years so it’s hard for her to manage shredding process all by herself. She said ‘YES’ to make it if and only if dad finishes that task completely ;) And guess what… he did that, for the 1st time n may be for the last time too :P

Today morning, when I thought of baking a cake for 3rd blog-anniversary!!! Ahhh… silly me, forgot to tell you it’s today! 24th September, 2010 was the day when I posted my 1st recipe… n since then, I know how much I’ve grown in this field… yet a long way to go :) On hubby’s demand, I postponed a plan of cake n made ‘Gajar ka Halwa’… but before I ask him to help me shredding carrots, he got to start his work from home n join a conference call… Errrr! Anyways, it’s a celebration day… So happy I’m :)

Try out this authentic and forever favorite Indian sweet dish – “Gajar ka Halwa” :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg Carrots
2 cups Milk, boiled
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder
7-8 Cashews
7-8 Almonds

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Wash and peel carrots and shred them using big hole grater.
2. Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Saute cashews and almonds for a min and keep them aside.
3. Add shredded carrots in pan and mix well.
4. Cook it on low-flame until raw aroma disappears. This will take approx 15 mins.
5. Add milk and cardamom powder in it, mix all together and cook it on low flame for 15 mins more.
6. Once it becomes thick and releases ghee from sides, add sugar in it.
7. Mix everything well and cook it for 10 mins now.
8. Add 10-12 pieces of sauteed nuts in it and mix it gently.
9. Transfer it to a serving plate and garnish with remaining nuts.
10. Serve hot or chilled!

SJ’s NOTE:

• To get a rich red color, you can add 3-4 drops of red food color while making it! I did… :)

Linking this dish with

1. “Only Traditional Event” of Jiya’s Delicacy & Pari’s Foodelicious

2. Festival Treats Event of Cuisine Delights and Riappyayan