Gajar Ka Halwa

New Year brings lots of sweet memories and here is a sweet which reminds all of us of these Hindi lines :
Son : "Maa mein aa gaya!"
Ma : "Beta, tu aa gaya!" (I guess he just announced his arrival dear screen mom)
" Beta mu-haat dho lo..tumhe bhook lag rahi hogi! AAJ maine tumharey pasand ka 'GAJAR KA HALWA' banaya hai!!! (Taaddaaaaaa)
Son : " Maa tumhe kaise pata mujhe gajar ka halwa bahut pasand hai (Arey Director ney bata diya..aur tum Maa ko screen mom -one-movie-mom hone ka ehsaas kyon karva rahe ho, bevakoof, Mums know frm the birth of their childs fave food ..so curb on silly questions n gulp down that halwa to satiate your hunger while the noble people shall gulp down a bowl of daal and rice!)
Yes..from our good old number of Hindi Movies esshtyle!

But no, this was made as dessert! My MIL makes awesome gajar halwa...the pain in the neck(shoulders and arms literally) is grating them manually!
When I saw Indian Red Juicy Carrots, I longed for this halwa as I don't prefer halwa out of the orange unsweet carrots. There are many versions and after trying many of these, I have settled for below recipe.

How to make this ---

Ingredients :
1 tbspn ghee
5 cups grated carrots
2 1/2 cups milk
3/4th cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom(elaichi) powder
10 cashews + 5 for garnishing
10 almonds + 5 for garnishing

Method :

Cut the cashews and almonds lengthwise. In a deep kadhai, heat ghee, add the cashews and almonds, fry till transculent. To this add the grated carrots and stir well till uniformly mixed with ghee. (I pressure cooked the grated gajar with milk upto two whistles just enough so that it doesn't get over cooked, for saving time) Add milk and keep stirring in between so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Once all the milk evaporates, add sugar, stir till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Put off the flame, add cardamom and mix well. Cool it, garnish with cashews and almonds. Serve.




Ready to be digged in!! Ek bowl se mera kya hoga?? :D

HAPPY SANKRANTI AND HAPPY PONGAL TO U!