Gajar Ka Halwa/ Gajrela
Gajrela or Carrot Halwa is a delicious and creamy 6 ingredient Carrot pudding that is a favourite in the sub-continent during the winter season.
Servings: 6
Equipment
- Food Processor with Shredding Attachment or Box Grater
Ingredients
- 1 kg Carrots/ Gajar, 1 kilogram peeled and shredded
- 1 litre Full cream Milk/ Whole Milk/ Doodh
- 4 pods Green Cardamom Pods/ Elaichi pounded or powdered
- 2-3 tbsp Ghee
- 1/2 cup Almonds/ Badam (Or use any nuts of choice) roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup Sugar/ Cheeni
- 1 tbsp Raisins/ Kishmish (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and peel the carrots and shred them in a food processor. If you don’t have one you’ll have to use a handheld shredder/ box grater.
- Place shredded carrots in a big wok or kadhai on low heat.
- Pour in all the milk over carrots. Pound the green cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle or crack open the pods using the back of a heavy utensil. Add the cardamom to the milk and carrot mix.
- Cover and let this cook for half an hour on low heat. Check and stir in between.
- Continue cooking on medium heat until milk is reduced to half its initial volume. At this stage stir in chopped almonds. You can use other nuts like cashews and pistachio. If you are using Raisins/ Kishmish, rinse and drain them and add in to the kadhai.
- Cover and cook on low heat for another half hour.
- Once you see that the milk is reduced and absorbed in the carrots, you’ll see a white residue coating the carrots. That is the milk transforming into Khoya which makes the texture creamy. See notes on use of Khoya.
- If you prefer drier halwa, cook till more milk evaporates and only a tablespoon worth is left. If you prefer juicier halwa, add 2-3 tablespoons of ghee and give it a good stir. Increase the heat to medium and stir continuously so that it cooks evenly.
- After a couple of minutes of cooking the halwa with ghee, tip in the sugar and mix it in till you see it dissolve. You will see that the mix becomes slightly watery and that is fine.
- Keep stirring and cooking till you see the water evaporate from the halwa.
- Once the water from the sugar evaporates, the Gajar ka Halwa/ Gajrela is ready to serve. It can be had right off the stove or cold, depending on your preference. I recommend serving it warm. See notes for storage and freezing.
Notes
- Khoya is reduced milk used frequently in sweets in the Indian subcontinent. That is what lends the halwa a creamy texture. Some like to add store bought khoya to the Gajrela to make it creamier but I prefer it without the Khoya as the full fat milk makes it creamy enough.
- Consistency: You can adjust the consistency of the halwa by cooking it for longer till most of the liquid evaporates before adding the sugar. For a juicier halwa, you can proceed with adding the sugar when there is still 2-3 tbsp of liquid on the sides.
- Storage: Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Reheat in a heavy bottom pan till steaming hot or microwave it for minute and stir midway for even heating.
- Freezing the Gajrela/Gajar ka Halwa: You may freeze the halwa in your freezer for a couple of months. For serving, let the frozen halwa thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat till steaming hot. I do not recommend refreezing thawed halwa.