Carrot Halwa (Gajar ka Halwa) Recipe
Carrot halwa (or gajar ka halwa) is an Indian pudding made with carrots, nuts, and raisins and spiced with cardamom. It’s super simple to make – I make mine in the microwave!
Recipe Tips
You can use a grater to grate your carrots, but I find it much easier to use a food processor. I do the same thing with my carrot cupcakes. There’s no need to peel the carrots first; make sure that you scrub them really well before food processing.
Depending on where you live, ghee can be hard to find. If that’s the case, you can make your own ghee using regular unsalted butter.
Like my chocolate mug cake made in the microwave, cook times vary widely based on the power of your specific microwave. So, don’t sweat the time estimates I give in the recipe; instead, look for my descriptions of how the dish should look at each point. For example: Is the ghee melted? Is the milk no longer visible?
I add pistachios and golden raisins to my carrot halwa, but you can experiment with adding cashews and sliced almonds as well.
Serving and Storage
Carrot halwa can be served warm or chilled. I prefer warm, but try them both and see which you prefer.
Serve it topped with some crushed pistachios!
Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Other Indian Desserts to Try
Diwali (the Indian festival of lights) is a perfect time to celebrate Indian culture by making Indian desserts. But, really, any time will work since the desserts are so amazingly good. Some of my favorites are:
- Gulab jamun, dough balls soaked in syrup
- Kheer, fragrant rice pudding
- Mango custard, so refreshing on a scorching day!
- Laddu, a sweet dessert ball made with chickpea flour
Carrot Halwa (Gajar ka Halwa)
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated carrots about 4 carrots; using a food processor makes this easy
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup shelled pistachios
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- pinch saffron optional
Instructions
- Microwave grated carrots and ghee in a large microwave-safe bowl until the ghee is melted (about two minutes).
- Add milk to the bowl and microwave until the milk is steamy but not boiling, about two minutes.
- Add sugar and cardamom to the bowl and microwave in two minute bursts, stirring in between each two minutes, until you can no longer see milk in the bowl. This should take about ten minutes.
- Remove from heat and mix in pistachios, raisins, and saffron.
- Serve the carrot halwa immediately, garnished with crushed pistachios. Optionally store in the refrigerator for up to one week and reheat before serving or even serve chilled.
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