Slow Cooked Gajar Halwa Recipe (With Khoya)
Rich and authentic punjabi style gajar halwa with khoya which is sure to satisfy your cravings.Includes lots of substitutions.
Ingredients
- ½-3/4 cup melted ghee or as needed (be generous!), divided
- 500 g carrots (see note 1)
- 1+¾ cup full fat milk hot
- ¾ cup sugar (see note 2), adjust to taste
- ½ cup khoya or as needed (see note 7)
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom preferably fresh group
- ⅓ cup mixed nuts of choice (chopped) or as much as you like
Instructions
- Wash, dry and peel the carrots using a vegetable peeler. Grate the carrots using a box grater or use food processor to grate the carrots. I use a food processor jar fitted with grater blade. Do not grate the carrots too fine else the halwa will not have any texture and it become mushy..
- Choose a wide utensil for cooking carrot halwa if possible(read below why). Add a tablespoon of ghee to a heavy bottom kadai or skillet. Fry the chopped nuts for a few minutes in ghee and take them out in a plate.
- Add 2 tablespoon ghee and add the grated carrots. Roast the carrots in ghee for 5-7 minutes while stirring constantly on low flame. This gets them started.
- Next, pour in the hot milk. We will now cook them together on low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until 95% of the milk has evaporated and carrots are super soft. Using a spatula, keep stirring the the carrots and milk while they are cooking on low medium flame. This is to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom. You can half- cover the pan to help carrots soften if you wish.
- Once most of the milk has evaporated and the carrots are soft, add in the sugar. As sugar dissolves, you will notice the carrots will again become runny. We will continue to stir and let moisture evaporate. Keep stirring at regular intervals and allow slow cooking till ALL the liquid has evaporated. During this time, do not increase the heat and keep a close eye since due to caramelization of sugar, the chances of carrots burning are high.
- Once all moisture is gone, next, add the ghee and start the bhunai on low medium heat. Bhuno(fry) the carrots in ghee for a good 8-12 minutes on medium low heat. This is the key step for a nice toasty taste in the halwa. The carrots will become shiny, and you will smell a very very nice aroma. Please don't rush this part.
- Once the bhunai is nearing completion, you will see that tiny ghee bubbles on the sides of cooking pot and you will also hear a faint crackling sound. Halwa is ready.
- Switch off the stove and mix in the cardamom, crumbled mawa and the chopped nuts.Combine with gentle hands. Carrot halwa is ready. Avoid bhunai after adding the khoya else the fats from the mawa will separate and the halwa will become oily. The residual heat is plenty for the khoya crumbles to meld.
- Serve warm garnished with extra chopped nuts. You can crumble extra khoya on top before serving.
Notes
- If available, preferably use red carrots in this recipe.
- If your carrots aren't too sweet, you can increase the quantity of sugar by 2 or 3 tablespoons. Adjust sugar quantity as per your preference.
- If nuts are a concern, simply skip chopped nuts in this recipe. You can add some golden raisins if you wish.
- Use a wide mouthed utensil.A wide pan helps you stir the carrots easily during bhunai. Secondly, the milk and moisture from sugar evaporates quickly in a wide mouthed pot. I use a 10- or 12-inch kadai or a skillet to make gajar ka halwa. A heavy bottom pot helps avoid milk scorching at the bottom during slow cooking.
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- Do not Skimp on Ghee. Ghee not only adds flavor but also helps in bhunai the carrots. It makes the carrot halwa moist. When the amount of ghee is right, the taste of bhuna hua halwa (perfectly roasted) comes through and the halwa does not taste dry.
- Do not grate the carrots too fine else the halwa will not have any texture and it will be mushy. The right texture of delhi style gajar halwa is soft and melt in the mouth with a bit of chewiness at the end from grated carrots.
- Avoid too much bhunai after adding the khoya else the fat from the mawa will separate and the halwa will become oily.
- Gajar ka Halwa is best served warm garnished with extra chopped nuts. You can crumble extra khoya on top when serving.
- Carrot halwa always tastes better the next day. Make the halwa and let it completely cool to room temperature and then store it in an air-tight container with a lid. Refrigerate and next day, reheat and serve it. You can store halwa in fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat, warm it up on stove on low heat or microwave.
- Freezing - Store carrot halwa frozen for 2-3 months. For freezing, portion out the halwa using a measuring cup(I usually do ? cup portions) or ice cream scoop. I place the portions in a silicone muffin cups. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Place the frozen halwa portions in a ziplock back and keep in the freezer for when you want to use. You can thaw the quantity you like for at least an hour or so before reheating.
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- Traditional Gajar Halwa With Milk - Skip khoya and grounds almonds in this recipe. Follow the recipe as it is. You can reduce the quantity of ghee to ⅓ cup if you wish.
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- Gajar Halwa With Evaporated Milk – Simply use ½ cup regular milk and one 12 fl oz can of evaporated milk in this recipe. Only evaporated milk is quite thick and will evaporate quikcly without carrots getting a chance to cook fully, that's why we need to eat regular milk as well.
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- Using Milk Maid(Condensed Milk) – To make carrot halwa with condensed milk, use ½ cup milk in this recipe along with 14 oz(380g) sweetened condensed milk. Skip the sugar.
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- Gajar Halwa Using Milk Powder - Use ⅓ cup full fat milk powder instead of khoya in this recipe. Skip the khoya. I like using Nido brand milk powder.
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- Vegan Gajar Halwa- Use cream cashew or almond milk in place of regular milk. Use plant based butter instead of ghee. Skip the khoya.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!