Gajar Halwa in Condensed Milk is a variation of the original recipe. It’s a non-traditional Indian dessert. The traditional gajar ka halwa is made using sugar. It is further packed & sold commercially. In short, they are available at your nearest sweet shop.
On the contrary, condensed milk gajar halwa is rare. However, the taste & texture of gajar halwa with & without condensed milk has barely any difference. But, surprisingly, gajar halwa in condensed milk tastes much better.
I can tell this because I have tried almost all possible variations of gajar halwa. Moreover, we will be making one of them today.
Halwa is a word from the Arabic language. It means sweet and refers to desserts that are cooked down with ghee and sugar. Since we are using grated carrots in the same way, this dessert is called carrot halwa. By the way, gajar halwa is carrot pudding in foreign languages.
The traditional halwa is made by cooking carrots in milk until the milk is evaporated. The use of milk or condensed milk was absent. But our recipe is sort of an experiment and improvisation.
Every recipe requires more or less prior preparations, and so does our halwa. Here are they. Take a look.
Grating carrots is a hectic job if done using bare hands. Use an electric grater.
Cooking carrot halwa is a tedious thing. Although this may be true, the result is highly satisfying. In short, the hard work pays off really well.
Two steps require constant monitoring. The first one I have already mentioned above is grating the carrots. The second one is sauteing grated carrots in ghee.
We need a dry batch of grated carrots. Sauteeing on a low flame with ghee will burn the water. On top of it, we also need to make sure that it doesn’t burn at the bottom. Therefore, fold the mixture continuously on low flames. Do not hurry up & saute on high flames.
Once it is dry, add other ingredients one by one. Finally, your gajar halwa in condensed milk is ready.
Yes, you can. For that, heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add grated carrots. Saute them for 4-5 minutes or until the carrot softens. The add milk and bring the milk to boil. Pressure cook everything for 1 whistle and on low for 2-3 minutes. Let the air settle down and then open the lid. Then add sweetener, dry fruits, cardamom powder, and milk solids to the halwa. Sauté the halwa on high for 7-8 minutes or until the liquid dries. Keep stirring continuously to avoid burning. the halwa is ready.
Mawa integrates bulkiness & rich taste. The creamy flavour will nourish the halwa. Moreover, it will give a soothing aroma.
Nutmeg & cinnamon are excellent substitutes for cardamom. But don’t add all three of them together. Either of them is only permissible.
When refrigerated the halwa will last close to two weeks. Do not leave it at room temperature or it won’t be edible for long. You can even freeze carrot halwa for about a month.
This recipe can easily be a vegan one. We are already not using milk in this. Just the milk solids are one non-vegan ingredient in here. Hence, skip using that. Or use powdered dry fruits in their place. If you are using milk then swap that with a plant-based option.
Yes, you can replace sugar with jaggery. Besides, jaggery is a healthy natural sweetener to indulge in the gajar ka halwa.
So, that was it with the carrot halwa recipe today.