Indian carrot pudding is our very own Gajar ka Halwa which is popular across India for good reasons. It is the celebratory Indian sweet which brings an instant smile to everyone’s face!
Our much awaited festive season is here and the celebration cannot be complete without a bowl of warm Gajar ka Halwa!
We just celebrated the festival of Dusshera which marks the win of right over wrong.
Here is wishing you all a very Happy Dusshera with all the sweetness and let all the goodness win over the badness to bring holistic joy to our life!
Gajar ka halwa is a traditional Indian sweet which is made on special occasions or during festivities.
Gajar is carrot and halwa is pudding; so gajar ka halwa is nothing but a sweet Indian pudding made of carrots and flavored with the amazing ghee and green cardamom powder.
Gajar ka halwa is something which I have been hearing since my childhood in Bollywood movies where mothers used to make this quintessential sweet dish for her beloved son and the sons used to freak out on them.
It was not very popular in my house but I was always curious about it. I had to know what’s so special about the Gajar ka halwa!
Finally I discovered it. It is really a special-occasion dish; not because it is too rich and heavy but because it is way too delicious that it is perfect to mark something very special and celebrate it.
There is Indian rice pudding too which is another delicious sweet dish which my ma used to make on my birthday and it is also traditionally made as an offering to our Gods.
Gajar ka halwa is no less in taste than that and the bright and cheerful orange color is enough to lift anyone’s mood up instantly!
Any Indian pudding require some time and effort to make and Gajar ka halwa is also no exception.
First you need to grate the carrots but for that you can use your food processor with the fine grater blade to make the process easy and quick.
Then comes the effort some part – sautéing the grated carrots in ghee or clarified butter for almost 20 minutes stirring them almost continuously. Sounds lot of work, right?
I agree that it is! That’s the very reason why Gajar ka Halwa is made on special occasions when all friends and family gather together and you can make this grand sweet dish with little effort from everyone!
How cool that is!
Infused with love from everyone, this amazing dessert will become more remarkable making the occasion a memorable one!
- Carrot – 1 kg (About 5 cups finely grated)
- Ghee (Clarified butter) – 6 tbsp
- Milk – 1 liter
- Condensed milk – 400 gms
- Cardamom powder – 1 tbsp
- Almonds/Cashews – 10 to 15, broken and lightly toasted
- Salt – ¼ tsp
- Heat the ghee in a large wok. Add the grated carrot and salt to the ghee. Saute the carrots for good 20 minutes on low heat until the carrots are soft and ghee starts to release.
- Now pour in the milk and let it come to boil on medium heat. Once the milk starts to boil, reduce the heat to minimum and cook uncovered until all the liquid milk evaporates and the milk solids get infused with the carrots. This would take good 30 minutes.
- Then add the condensed milk. Stir to mix everything well. Let the condensed milk come to a simmer. Cook until the carrot halwa thickens. The consistency should be quite thick with hardly any liquid visible.
- Once done, sprinkle the cardamom powder and turn off the flame. Cover and let it sit for 15 minutes.
- Serve warm sprinkling the toasted nuts on top of each serving.
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