Gajar ka Halwa
Grated carrot cooked slowly in ghee, with sugar, thickened milk, nuts and cardamom. Serve warm.
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Gajar is carrot. This sweet dish is eaten in North India mainly in winter.
Grate the carrots coarsely and not finely, because finely grated carrot falls apart while cooking. Leave out the green end and the white core, the red flesh has the most flavour and colour.
Mawa, also called khoya, is milk reduced to a solid mass. You buy it at an Indian grocer. If you cannot find it, full-fat milk powder or ricotta will do, though it tastes slightly different.
Tip. Keep stirring regularly, especially once the sugar is in. Sugar and carrot juice catch on the bottom of the pan quickly.
Method
- 1
Wash and peel the carrots. Grate them on a coarse grater. Do not use a fine grater, or the halwa turns mushy. Leave out the green end and the white core: the red flesh gives the best flavour.
- 2
Put 4 tbsp ghee in a large wok or deep pan. Let the ghee melt and add the grated carrot.
- 3
Fry the carrot for 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring well. Then put the lid on and cook 5 minutes over low to medium heat.
- 4
Meanwhile prepare the nuts: roughly chop the cashews and almonds. Take the seeds out of 6 green cardamom pods and crush them in a mortar to a coarse powder.
- 5
After 5 minutes stir the carrot well. Lid back on and cook another 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- 6
The carrot has now cooked for about 15 minutes in total. Keep stirring regularly so nothing sticks to the bottom or burns.
- 7
Lower the heat and add 100 g sugar. Mix well, lid on, and cook another 3 to 4 minutes over low heat.
- 8
The carrot now releases its juice. Take the lid off and keep cooking over medium-high heat until most of the liquid has reduced. Keep stirring.
- 9
Meanwhile crumble 250 g mawa into a separate frying pan. Roast it over low heat until the ghee starts to separate out. Keep stirring and stop as soon as it changes colour slightly and smells good. Turn off the heat.
- 10
Once most of the liquid from the carrot has gone, add the roasted mawa, the chopped nuts and the cardamom powder.
- 11
Mix everything through well and cook another 2 minutes.
- 12
Turn off the heat and transfer the halwa to a serving dish.
- 13
Scatter over some extra chopped nuts and serve warm. It keeps a week in the fridge.
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