gajar halwa or carrot halwa recipe

- one
of the most popular halwa recipes of india.
gajar halwa is made in almost all festive
occasions like diwali, holi, janmashtami and
so on.
carrot halwa is a classic indian dessert
that goes for any celebrative occasion or
season. its an evergreen indian dessert
made all over india.
there are four variations of making gajar
halwa recipe including this one:
1. gajar halwa made with milk – although,
this takes more time to prepare as
compared to this condensed milk recipe.
but i prefer this method more because
taste wise it is the best.
2. carrot halwa made with sweetened
condensed milk or milkmaid – easy and
quicker method to make the halwa.
3. microwave carrot halwa recipe – a quick
method to make gajar halwa in microwave.
gajar halwa and beetroot halwa holds
special memories for me. these two sweets
were mom’s favorites sweets and no
matter how tired she was or the lack of
time she had, she would make sure to make
these two sweets always…. both together
for festive and special occasions.
there are some indian sweets and desserts
i have successfully veganized and shall be
posting them one by one. this gajar ka
halwa is one of the successfully veganized
indian sweets … the first being seviyan
(vermicelli) kheer ).
what comes to my rescue in making indian
sweets, is almond milk and paste whilst
replacing milk and evaporated/khoya in
indian sweets respectively.
the method of making this gajar halwa is
exactly the way i make halwa with milk….
be it lauki ka halwa , beetroot halwa or
gajar halwa.
its the same cooking
technique to make carrot
halwa recipe:
so if you are a vegan use almond milk and
neutral flavored vegetable oil to make
carrot halwa.
if you are a vegetarian use regular dairy
milk and ghee to make carrot halwa.
the proportion of sugar and oil/ghee can
always be adjusted in any halwa. so if you
like a more sweeter version, add more
sugar and if you like a little more grease,
then add some more oil or ghee.
personally for me this vegan gajar halwa
made in almond milk was tasting very
much similar to the regular gajar halwa.
even the family could not make out the
difference.
i have taken step by step pics for this
gajar halwa recipe post. since it was night
time there is no daylight magic in the pics
and hence look ok ok.
lets start step by step gajar
halwa or carrot halwa recipe:
1: first is the tedious job of grating
carrots. use a food processor for quick
results.
2: mix the almond milk (or regular dairy
milk) and carrots together in a pan or
kadai/wok.
3: put the pan on fire and bring the whole
carrot – almond mixture to a gentle boil on
a low or medium flame. better to cook on
a low or medium flame as slow cooking
gives a better taste and the mixture does
not have less chances to stick to the pan.
use a heavy based non reactive pan or a
non stick pan or wok to make the halwa.
4: then simmer and let the carrots-milk
mixture cook further. this whole process of
cooking the carrots in the milk, takes
about 35-45 minutes or more on a low
flame.  after 12 minutes this is how the
mixture appears.
5: once the carrots are half cooked ie.
after overall after 18 minutes add the
cardamom powder & stir.
6: continue to stir in between. after 3-4
minutes, add the oil/ghee and sugar.
7: stir and let the mixture thicken.
continue to cook.  after 5 minutes…
8: when the liquids in the mixture has
almost dried, add raisins, cashews, saffron
and almond paste.
9: stir and cook for 2-3 minutes till the
moisture dries up. serve the carrot halwa
hot or warm. you can have carrot halwa
cold too. if stored in a refrigerator
then carrot halwa stays good for 3-4
days.