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.