Gajar ka Halwa (Red Carrot Pudding)

Come winters and I wait for the red carrots to hit the market. I just love gajar ka halwa. I am today sharing the traditional way of making it. Though the process is time consuming ( not tedious) , trust me its worth all the effort. Once you make it this way you will never eat store bought gajar ka halwa. 

Please use only red carrots not the orange ones. 

I have used 125 gms of sugar  as I like my halwa to be on the sweeter side but you can start by adding 100  gms first and then add more as per your taste. Remember it will taste sweeter once it is done.

Ingredients:

Carrots Milk Sugar Ghee/clarified butter Cashew nuts broken Almond flakes Pistachio flakes Raisins Cardamom pd

1 kg 2 kg ( 1 kg full cream +1 kg toned ) 125 gms 4 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tsp

Method:

1. Put the milk to boil in a heavy bottom wok.
2. Wash and peel the carrots.
3. Grate the carrots and pressure cook them for two whistles with half cup of milk.
4. Add boiled carrots to the boiling milk once it has reduced to half. 
5. Continue cooking  on slow heat till almost all the milk has evaporated. Keep stirring regularly to avoid it form sticking to the bottom.
6. Add 100 gms sugar. Once it has melted , taste it  add more sugar as per your taste. 
7. Stir continuously as now the chances of it sticking to the bottom are even more.
8. Continue to cook  till the mix is completely dry.
9. Now add ghee, nuts (keep some for garnishing later) and cardamom pd. Stirring continuously roast  on medium to high heat for a 3-5 minutes.
10. Remove from fire . 
11. Garnish with remaining nuts and serve warm .
12. Once completely cool store in fridge in an air tight container. 
13. Warm it before serving.
14. Stays fresh for 7 - 10 days in the fridge.

Strawberry crumble squares

Till a few years back sourcing strawberries was a difficult task so whatever little we could source , we enjoyed them raw. Now with their availability in abundance , I thought of using them in baking. 

While googling one day I came across this recipe for blueberry crumb bars and that's when I decided to try it with strawberries as I didn't have blueberries . I have made a few changes in the recipe. I have not used the egg. Replaced margarine with butter , added almond meal to flour and topped it with almond flakes. Last but  not the least reduced the quantity proportionately to suit my needs.

The recipe has been adapted from : http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Crumb-Bars/Detail.aspx

Ingredients:

Strawberries	250 gms.
Cornstarch.	2 tsp
Butter cubed.	80 gms
Brown sugar	60 gms
Salt  a pinch
Lemon  zest  of	one lemon
Castor sugar	50 Gms
Castor sugar	50 Gms
APF	150 gms
Almond meal	25 gms
Baking pd	1/4 + 1/8 tsp
Almond flakes	25 gms
Strawberries	250 gms.

Method :

1.       Wash and dry strawberries on a clean kitchen towel.

2.       Cut them into 4.

3.       Sprinkle castor sugar and cornstarch on them and mix lightly.

4.       Keep them aside.

5.       Mix flour,  baking powder and butter using your finger tips, till it looks like  coarse bread crumbs

6.       Add sugar , salt , lemon zest and almond meal.

7.       Mix well, the crumble is now ready.

8.       Grease and line a dish measuring ( l,b,h) 9,5,2 inches.

9.       Spread  half of  the crumble mix  in the prepared dish.

10.   Place strawberries along with their juice over this mix.

11.   Cover the strawberries with the remaining crumble mix.

12.   Sprinkle almond flakes on top.

13.   Bake in a preheated oven at 190 deg. Celsius for  35 to 40 min. Or till top is slightly brown.

14.   Let it cool completely. Refrigerate for a few hours . Cut into squares.