Gajar Halwa – Indian Carrot Fudge Pudding with Raisins and Pistachios

Gajar Halwa - Indian Carrot Fudge PuddingWell, I love to cook up something to mark a holiday. The husband has gone healthy on me (or so he would like to say) and chocolate is an issue. He likes dark chocolates and I like them many shades lighter. However, when the man is North India, despite all his protests a Gajar Halwa (Carrot Fudge Pudding) is usually a safe bet. A Delhi winter classic, it features in my New York Kitchen at least a couple of times in winter. I make it when I have the time to do it justice. Some things just have to be done right. I do not overdo the ghee, but do add in its fair share.

A household family special.

Gajar Halwa

There are many versions out there that promise quick fixes to this dessert.  I myself have a quicker vegan version. However, this classic version is one that is closest to my mother-in-law’s family recipe.

It is one of my husband’s few weaknesses and is reserved for special occasions in our house.  Whenever we visit my mother-in-law she has a bowl of this ready to greet her son. And very few son’s can refuse their mother’s signature dishes.

An investment of Time

This classic version is not difficult, it does need an investment of time.  It takes almost two and half hours to get the perfect gajar halwa. Not all hands on, but while the halwa simmers, it needs occasional stirring and supervision.

By the way, this dessert is fairly rich as is, since it is made with milk cooked with carrots to a thick fudge like state with fragrant cardamom, finished with clarified butter, raisins and pistachios.

How to Enjoy your Gajar Halwa

If you want to indulge the way they do at Indian weddings you can top this with vanilla ice-cream. The melting coolness of the ice-cream gives way to warm soft creamy seductiveness of the smooth carroty goodness of the dessert.

If you love the colors and prefer a vegan treat, here is my vegan version of this dessert.

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Gajar Halwa – Indian Carrot Fudge Pudding with Raisins and Pistachios

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

A decadent and colorful recipe for Gajar Halwa, a classic dessert from North India.

Ingredients

  • ½ gallon whole milk
  • 11/2 pound of fresh whole carrots (do not use baby carrots for this recipe)
  • 4 cardamoms bruised
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup raisins (try to use mixed raisins, they add a nice contrast)
  • ¼ cup pistachios and some for garnishing
  • 6 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee)

Instructions

  1. In a heavy bottomed pan with a wide mouth (a heavy wok is perfect for this), pour the milk and bring to a boil.
  2. In the meantime, peel and grate the carrots. I like the texture of hand grating, however if you want to save time you can use a food processor.
  3. Turn down the heat and add the carrots to the milk. Eventually the milk should reach a brisk simmer. The goal is to cook the milk down without burning it, so it is optimal to play around with the heat until you get the best evaporation level without having to nurse this constantly for 3 hours. I usually settle for a medium low temperature and do some work near the stove. Every 10 minutes or so, I stop by and remove the thick skin that forms over the milk and mix it in.
  4. About 1 and 40 minute of this process you will get a fairly thick almost pudding or fudge like texture. Add in the sugar and stir well and add in the raisins and nuts.
  5. Cook this until the mixture is fairly dry and the color is almost darker, you should see less of the milk solids at this point.
  6. Add in the clarified butter and cook until the mixture is sort of dry.
  7. Serve hot or warm garnished with additional pistachios. This can be refrigerated and heated just before serving.
https://spicechronicles.com/gajar-halwa-indian-carrot-fudge-pudding-raisins-pistachios/

 

 

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