When the long red Delhi carrots arrive in markets each winter, gajar halwa follows almost immediately. Made properly, it is one of the great Indian sweets: soft, jammy strands of carrot, rich with reduced milk, glossy with ghee and fragrant with cardamom. The traditional method takes time, most of it slow simmering, and the reward is a depth that quick versions cannot match.
Ingredients
- 1 kg red carrots (winter carrots give the best colour and sweetness)
- 1 litre full-cream milk
- 4 to 6 tbsp ghee
- ¾ to 1 cup sugar, to taste
- ½ cup khoya, crumbled (optional)
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- ¼ cup chopped almonds, cashews and pistachios
- 2 tbsp raisins
Method
- Grate the carrots. Wash, peel and grate the carrots on the thick side of a grater. Discard any tough, pale cores from large carrots.
- Cook in milk. In a heavy-bottomed, wide kadai, combine grated carrots and milk. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium-low heat, stirring every few minutes and scraping the sides.
- Reduce. Cook for 45 to 60 minutes until almost all the milk has evaporated and the carrots are soft. This is the step where patience matters. The halwa should look moist but with no liquid milk left.
- Add ghee. Add 4 tbsp ghee and cook, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes. The halwa will darken slightly and turn glossy, and you will smell the carrots caramelising.
- Add sugar. Add sugar. It will release moisture and the halwa will loosen. Cook, stirring, for another 10 to 12 minutes until it thickens again and the ghee begins to separate at the edges.
- Khoya. If using, add crumbled khoya and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Nuts and flavour. Fry nuts and raisins in the remaining ghee until golden, and add them with cardamom.
The quick version
If time is short, cook the grated carrots in 2 tbsp ghee for 10 minutes until they soften, add ½ cup milk and cook until dry, then add sugar and 200 g khoya and cook until thick and glossy. It takes about 35 minutes. It is good. It is not quite the same.
Tips for the best gajar halwa
Use red Delhi carrots in season. Orange carrots work, but give a paler, less sweet halwa.
Sugar after the milk is reduced. Adding sugar early makes the carrots take much longer to soften and can cause the milk to catch.
A wide, heavy pan. More surface area evaporates milk faster. Thin pans burn.
Ghee at the right stage. Ghee added after the milk has reduced roasts the carrots gently and gives gajar halwa its characteristic sheen and rich aroma.
Storage
Gajar halwa keeps in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Reheat in a pan with a small spoon of ghee, which brings back its gloss and fragrance.
How to serve
Warm, on its own; with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, as many Delhi wedding caterers now do; or topped with crumbled khoya or a spoon of rabri.
Gajar halwa season is short. When the red carrots are in the market, make a batch, and give it the ghee it deserves: A2 Gir Cow Ghee if you have it.