Gajar Halwa / Carrot Halwa / Indian Carrot Pudding

Gajar Halwa or Carrot Halwa is a melt-in-the-mouth dessert. It is a famous North Indian dessert and made of grated carrots, milk, and sugar. Further, it is flavored with ghee, ground cardamoms, and chopped nuts. The Gajar Halwa is sweet, creamy, rich, and absolutely irresistible.

Jump to:

• About Gajar Halwa
• Ingredients
• Step by Step Directions
• Serving Suggestions
• Storing Suggestions
• Helpful Tips
• More Indian Desserts
• Recipe Card

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About Gajar Halwa

Gajar Halwa is very popular in India, and it is made on various occasions. Especially in winter, you will often see hot Gajar Halwa counter at weddings or other celebrations. 

It is straightforward to make the Gajar Halwa, but it is not a quick recipe. Rather this carrot Halwa is slow-cooked and requires patients. However, it requires very few ingredients to make carrot halwa.

We can make Gajar Halwa with any type of carrots, but they must be tender, juicy, and sweet. If we make this Halwa with dry and hard carrots, the Halwa will also be dry and will not taste good.

I generally like making Carrot desserts with red carrots (Indian Carrots) whenever I get them in Indian Grocery stores. But I have made this Halwa with orange carrots because I found them juicy and sweet. So choose the good quality carrots, be it orange, red, or black carrots.

Ingredients

1. Carrots: It is essential to use fresh, sweet, and juicy carrots to make the best-tasting Halwa. Generally, I make Gajar or Carrot dessert dishes using red carrots whenever available in the Indian Grocery stores. Otherwise, I use regular carrots, but I always make sure that they are sweet and juicy. So, in short, use any type of carrots, but they should be sweet and juicy to make this carrot pudding.
2. Milk: Use full-fat milk for the creamy and rich Gajar Halwa. With low-fat milk, Halwa will not be as delicious and creamy as it should be.
3. Sugar: I have used cane sugar for this dessert recipe. But you can use regular white sugar instead. I have added 1 cup of sugar, making this Halwa perfectly sweet. But you can initially add ¾ cup of sugar, mix well, taste, and add more if you need to. 
4. Ghee: Ghee makes the Gajar Halwa shiny, flavorful, and luscious. If you want, you can add a little less or more Ghee as per your preference.
5. Cardamom Powder: It adds a pleasant, warm, and sweet flavor to this Halwa and makes it more delicious.
6. Nuts: I have added chopped almonds, cashews, and pistachios. You can add three of them or either one of your choice. Nuts add their nutritional value to the Halwa and make it rich and delicious.

Step by Step Directions

• Wash the carrots thoroughly with water, peel, and grate them.
• Grate the carrots using smaller holes in a grater box. 
• To quicken the process, you can also use a food processor to grate the carrots.

• Next, take the milk into a large and heavy-bottomed pan or pot.
• Using a non-stick pan will help the procedure and will prevent Halwa from sticking to the bottom.
• Heat milk on medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
• Stir the milk occasionally.

• When the milk starts boiling, add grated carrots and mix well.

• Continue cooking milk and carrot mixture on low-medium heat.
• It should be on a simmering boil.
• Stir the mixture at regular intervals.
• Initially, the mixture will start frothing, and then it will continue to reduce.

• When the mixture starts getting thicker, stir it more frequently.
• Also, continue to scrap the sides of the pan or pot to release the milk solids.

• Continue cooking the milk and carrot mixture until milk is reduced by almost 90-95%.

• Then add sugar, ghee, and cardamom powder. 
• Mix everything well.

• Continue cooking the carrot halwa on low heat; stir it continuously. 
• Cook the mixture until the milk is evaporated completely. Also, ghee will be released, and halwa will move like a big lump.
• Add chopped nuts to the halwa and mix well.

• The Gajar Halwa is ready; turn off the heat and take it into a serving bowl.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve Gajar Halwa hot or warm. While serving, garnish Halwa with more chopped nuts if you prefer.
• You can also have Gajar Halwa cold or at room temperature, depending on how you like it.
• To make this Halwa more interesting, serve it with vanilla ice cream. Take warm or chilled Halwa in a bowl and place a scoop of ice cream on top of it.
• For a double dessert treat, top the warm Halwa with Gulab Jamun.

Storing Suggestions

• Refrigeration: Keep the Carrot Halwa in the fridge for up to a week. This Halwa will not stay at room temperature, so tightly cover the leftover Halwa and place it in the refrigerator.
• Freezing: If you make the Gajar Halwa in a large batch, you can freeze it for up to a couple of months. After making Carrot Halwa, let it cool completely. Then, store it in a freezer-safe container and freeze it. Thaw the Gajar Halwa at room temperature before serving, or warm it in the microwave.

Helpful Tips

• Use sweet, tender, and juicy carrots to make moist and delicious carrot Halwa. You can grate or shred the carrots manually or use a food processor to make the procedure quicker. I like to grate the carrots with smaller holes in the grater box. But you can also use the large holes to grate the carrots. 
• I have added 3tbsp of ghee, but you can add more ghee if you prefer.
• Use full-fat milk for the creamy and rich Halwa. Do not use low-fat or fat-free milk to make this Gajar Halwa.
• I have added chopped almonds, cashews, and pistachios. You can add your choice of nuts, and you can also add saffron if you want.
• I have used brown cane sugar, but you can add white sugar instead. Also, initially add ¾ cup of sugar, mix, taste, and add more as required.
• This recipe can easily be halved or doubled.

More Indian Desserts

You May Also Like More Carrot Recipes

• Carrot Burfi (Carrot Fudge) / Gajar Burfi
• Gajar Matar Sabji / Carrot and Peas Curry No Onion No Garlic
• Carrot Kheer / Indian Carrot Milk Pudding

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