12 February 2007

Carrot Halva

Can winters be complete without the carrot halva?
The moment you set your eyes on the lovely long red carrots you have to make this! I made this twice over the last month. Most of you probably know to make it, so I'll just run thru the method I follow.

Grate the red carrots (about 1 ½ kgs) and discard the white centre part – you can reserve that to make veg stock. Heat a cup of ghee in a thick bottomed pan and add the carrots. Mix well so that the ghee coats the carrots well. Add a handful of cashews, almonds and pistas. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the milk sufficient to cover all the carrot. Let it cook on low flame till done – takes about 1 ½ hours. Add sugar, cardamom powder and mix well. Take off the fire and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

14 comments:

HAREKRISHNAJI said...

you are absoultly right about serving with Vanilla Icecream. It's unbeatable combinaton.

J said...

HKji - Thankyou! Its the first time I'm noticing you here. Welcome.:) Your visit here led me to your blog and I was pleasantly surprised to see pictures of UAE - ah, now thats my "homeland" for the time being!! :):)

Sia said...

u r absolutely right jyotsna. winter is incomplete w/o carrot halwa with vanilla ice cream:) yummilicious:)

FH said...

You are right?What's a V'day amd winter without this dish!Looks great,watch out for mine on Wednesday!;D

swapna susarla said...

i have never tried carrot halwa..
the dish is making me to try..

KF said...

Wow carrot Halwa!!This time I will not leave you.I want to try that with vanilla Icecream...

J said...

Supriya - Drooling over your keyboard!! Go have some carrot halva, quick!!!!

Asha - My V'day goodies are yet to come!! But carrot halva is also a good idea, na?! :)

Swapna - Never tried carrot halva??? Oh my God, girl!!! You are missing something!!! Quick make a bit for yourself and family!! Winter's running out! :)

J said...

Kitchenfairy - The carrots are slowly diminishing from the markets!! Run, grab some soon!!:)

Mrs. K said...

Awww....carrot halwa! It is the blogging world that taught me to make carrot halwa regularly. Now...is that what I should do with the new bag of carrots I have? Can't resist it!

Inji Pennu said...

I once had a very bad experience with carrot halwa...it turned so bad...:( scared to try it again.. but i have taste delicious versions of it which makes me think...hmm..

J said...

RP - I can't believe that carrot halva was alien to you till you became a blogger!! Always thought it was prepared in every home!! What are you waiting for? Go open your bag of carrots and make halwa!!:)

Injipenne - You must try making this delicious dish! A few tips from me to get your halwa right:

- clean, peel and wash the carrots thoroughly, or it will taste bitter.
- do not use the middle white part of the carrot - it tastes bitter or bland sometimes. So you have to grate the carrots - don't use a chopper/food processor.
- cook the carrots on low flame till the milk almost dries up and the carrots are cooked well.
- stir thru every now and then -don't forget the carrots are cooking! you don't want burnt halva. :)
- add sugar only after carrots are cooked, else it will caramelise and won't taste good.
- you can add cream, mava, milk powder for a richer version.
- you can even cook in the microwave. i've never tried it though.

Hope this helps, inji.

Prema Sundar said...

serving carrot halwa with vanilla icecream is new to me...Thanks for the recipe and Happy valentine's day to u

J said...

Thankyou Prema and Happy V'Day to you and your family! :)

mathew said...

this is one of the rare desserts I know to make..though it never comes out that great when i make..I love it!! and yeah heavenly with vanilla ice cream..