Carrot Halwa Recipe | Gajar Ka Halwa Recipe | Indian Carrot Dessert with detailed photo and video recipe. An extremely simple and popular North Indian dessert recipe made with carrots, milk, milk solids, and dry fruits. It is perhaps one of the most popular and simple Indian desserts which is appreciated not just in India but across the globe. There are myriad ways to make this simple halwa recipe which may or may not involve complex steps, but this recipe post contains a simple pressure cooking method.
As mentioned earlier, there are myriad ways to prepare the simple gajar ka halwa or carrot halwa recipe. But this recipe prepared using a pressure cooker has to be one of the easy and simple ways to make it. In other words, there is no hassle of grating the carrots and also sauteing the carrots for long hours. I have added the whole carrots to pressure cooking which should basically reduce the cooking time and also improve the consistency. Having said that, I have used orange-colored carrots for this halwa, as compared to the traditional red-colored carrots. This is mainly due to the unavailability of red carrots here in Australia. I would strongly recommend using a red color which gives authentic color to it. Do try this way and I am sure that you would adopt this way happily.
In addition, some more related and additional tips, suggestions, and variants to the carrot halwa recipe. Firstly, choosing the right fresh carrots is important for the bright-colored and juicy halwa. Avoid using aged or soft carrots and tender red-coloured carrots are highly recommended. I used orange-colored carrots as I did not have access to the red carrots. Secondly, I have used the combination of khoa or mawa with full cream milk to pressure cook the halwa. Using full cream milk helps to give a rich and creamy texture. Lastly, you may serve this halwa with additional dry fruit toppings. Also, you may serve it chilled or warm with additional vanilla scoop ice cream toppings.
Finally, do visit my other related Indian Sweet Recipes Collection with this post of gajar ka halwa. It mainly includes my other related recipes like Poha Halwa Recipe, Kesar Malai Ladoo Recipe, Coconut Burfi Recipe, Besan Halwa Recipe, Peda Sweet Recipe, Badam Ladoo Recipe, Kalakand Sweet Recipe, Besan Barfi Recipe, Besan Ladoo Recipe, Kaju Katli Recipe. Further to these I would also like to add some more related recipe categories like,
About Carrot Halwa:
Carrot halwa or also known as gajar ka halwa is a popular and traditional pudding made with carrot mash and full cream milk. It is traditionally made and served for various festival celebrations and occasion feasts, but can also be made for day-to-day lunch or dinner. It is generally made with red-colored carrots which gives it an authentic bright color, but can also be made with other types of carrots with a slight variation in the amount of sugar and milk added to it while cooking.
While the most common way to prepare the carrot halwa is to grate it evenly and cook it with full cream milk on low flame. But there have been so many variations claiming to be much more easier and simpler to cook. One such easy and simple method is to pressure cook it with full cream milk. This helps to give a perfect mushy texture without the hassle of painful grate. Also, no more sauteeing the carrots on low flame which can be overwhelming. Certainly, pressure cooking makes it an easy process but the authentic process is not much complex either.
Video Recipe:
Recipe Card for Gajar Ka Halwa:
carrot halwa recipe | gajar halwa recipe | gajar ka halwa banane ki vidhi
Ingredients
- 1 kg carrot
- ¼ cup ghee / clarified butter
- 10 cashew / kaju, chopped
- 10 almonds / badam, chopped
- 3 cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup khoya / mawa
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
Instructions
- firstly, peel the skin of carrot and grate finely. keep aside. traditionally, delhi carrot is used to prepare halwa.
- in a large kadai heat ¼ cup ghee and fry 10 cashew, 10 almonds.
- fry until it turns golden brown. keep aside.
- in the same ghee add grated carrot and saute well.
- saute for 5 minutes or until it changes colour slightly.
- now pour 3 cup milk and give a good stir.
- boil for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- continue to boil until the carrots are cooked well and milk reduces.
- once the milk thickens completely, add ¾ cup sugar.
- mix well and cook until the sugar dissolves and thickens.
- cook until the halwa thickens and ghee releases from sides.
- now turn off the flame and ½ cup khoya, ¼ tsp cardamom powder and fried nuts.
- mix well making sure everything is well combined.
- finally, enjoy gajar ka halwa or carrot halwa chilled or warm.
How to make Carrot Halwa with step-by-step photos:
- firstly, peel the skin of carrot and grate finely. keep aside. traditionally, delhi carrot is used to prepare halwa.
- in a large kadai heat ¼ cup ghee and fry 10 cashew, 10 almonds.
- fry until it turns golden brown. keep aside.
- in the same ghee add grated carrot and saute well.
- saute for 5 minutes or until it changes colour slightly.
- now pour 3 cup milk and give a good stir.
- boil for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- continue to boil until the carrots are cooked well and milk reduces.
- once the milk thickens completely, add ¾ cup sugar.
- mix well and cook until the sugar dissolves and thickens.
- cook until the halwa thickens and ghee releases from sides.
- now turn off the flame and ½ cup khoya, ¼ tsp cardamom powder and fried nuts.
- mix well making sure everything is well combined.
- finally, enjoy gajar ka halwa or carrot halwa chilled or warm.
Notes:
- firstly, make sure to grate the carrot finely for better texture.
- also, adjust the amount of sugar-based on the sweetness of the carrot.
- additionally, keep stirring in between to prevent from burning.
- finally, gajar ka halwa or carrot halwa tastes great when khova is added.