Carrot Halwa (Gajjar ka Halwa)

Carrot Halwa always takes me back to the childhood days. It was usually served during the winter months and the warm halwa would just disappear so fast – so warm, soft and “the melt in the mouth” goodness…mmm! Did we mention that carrots are very good for you? 😉
With a lot of festivals round the corner, we though we’d start the auspicious part of the year with this great, easy and hands-off treat.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

Finely Shredded Carrots: 2 lbs (approx 1 kg)
Condensed Milk – 1 X 14 oz can
Evaporated Milk – 1 X 12 oz can
Ghee (Clarified Butter) – 2 tbsp
Cashews – 1 tbsp
Pistachio – 1 tbsp
Raisins – 1 tbsp
Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp, podwered
Sliced Almonds – 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Soak the Raisins in some water.
2. In a microwave safe, tall bowl, mix the Carrots with Evaporated Milk and the Condensed Milk.
3. Mix very well.
4. Microwave for 10 minutes.
5. Take the bowl out and mix really well.
6. Microwave again for another 10 minutes.
7. Take the bowl out and mix well again.
8. Now mix and it goes in for 5 minutes.
9. Take it out and mix well and back in the microwave for 5 minutes.
10. Mix again.
11. You want to keep cooking till all the moisture has been absorbed by the carrots.
12. Powder the Cardamom Seeds and mix it into the Carrot mixture.
13. In a little skillet, heat the Ghee (Clarified Butter)
14. Add in the Cashews and fry them for just a minute.
15. Drain the water out of the Raisins and add just those into the Ghee.
16. Fry for just another minute and add everything from the skillet to the Carrot Halwa.
17. Mix well and serve hot.
18. Garnish with Pistachios and sliced Almonds.

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0 thoughts on “Carrot Halwa (Gajjar ka Halwa)

  1. Hi Hetal & Anuja,
    Firstly Thanks for all the great recipes,, but unfortunately this carrot halwa recipe did not work for me and instead the microwave broke down 🙁 honestly I was so upset when that happened,, had it for more than 12 years and until now it was working absolutely fine,, I have never used it for more than 3mins before,, the halwa was going fine for the first 20mins but after putting it back for another 5mins, it switched off after 3mins, tried it again and same thing repeated,, there was a kind of smoky smell, I don’t know whats wrong with it, It now doesnt complete heating food and for the specified time and switches off while its running? So i finished off th halwa on the stove. Just wanted to ask you have you experienced a similar thing? What do you think could have gone wrong with the microwave? Do you think its fixable? I will greatly appreciate your help. I hope to hear from you soon, Thanks

  2. hetal/anuja –

    i dont have a food processor or know anyone who has, is it possible to make carrot halwa using the grated carrots that we get in Trader Joes or Shoprite?

    Thanks

    1. Hi Pia,
      No, those will not work as they are too thick. You can use a grater/shredder and grate/shred the carrots – it may take a little longer but absolutely do-able 🙂
      Pl. do not deprive yourself of carrot halwa 😉

  3. Thank you so much for this recipe! I have tried making gajar ka halwa the traditional way a couple of times before but it never came out that good. I had stopped trying to make gajar halwa saying I will never be able to make it in this birth! I tried this recipe yesterday and it came out so good. I grated the carrots in a food processor. Its so much less effort for such great taste. I have tried a number of your other recipes too and they all came out great. Please keep up this good work!

  4. Hi, i love your recipes very very much….i’ll also try carrot halwa soon..i have one question, after juicing carrots, can i use remaining pulp for making this halwa, because i really don’t like to throw that pulp, cuz that’s rich in fibers and nutrients of course….

    1. Hi Jas,

      The pulp that comes out of the juicer is usually really flavorless as all of the goodness has been extracted. You will notice this if you try to eat the pulp. I guess you could use it in this recipe, but I’m sure that the carrot flavor will be absent.

  5. hi,i like your recipes very much… i feel very good when i can make non punjabi things and they taste really good… about carrot halwa, i have a question (probably this is a silly question :p) ..after juicing carrots, can we use remaining pulp for making this halwa…because i really don’t like to waste that pulp, coz that’s rich in fibers and nutrients of course..

  6. Hi Hetal and Anuja,

    The carrot halwa recipe is very fast and good. I prepared it and made my family members and colleagues to eat it. Everybody praised it a lot. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    I really like the green spatula that you have used to mix the contents in bowl. Could you guys please let me know it is of which brand and on which site I can find it?

    Regards,
    Mani

    1. Hi Meenu,

      The carrots available at supermarkets are usually “matchstick” style and will probably be too thick for this recipe.

  7. You guys are a blessing to a person like me, who has no clue about cooking anything other than basic stuff.I accidentally came upon your site recently. Your instructions are so easy to follow that my cooking has improved drastically and my kids are like, “wow mom you are awesome”.I have 2 angels to thank for this metamorphosis. Keep on with the good work guys, your fan club is growing as I have recommended this site to a lot of my erstwhile floundering 2 left thumbs in the kitchen kind of friends!!

    1. Hi Nalini,

      Thanks so much for the kind words! We’re so glad you and your friends are finding SMTC useful and we really appreciate your support in spreading our word! 🙂

  8. does anyone know the substitute of condensed milk…..or in anyway we can make it at home at times when we are too tired to rush towards the grocery store to buy one?

  9. Hi everyone. A super easy version of carrot halwa recipe using a juicer –

    4 kg carrots – put through juicer so pulp and juice is separated

    2 tbls ghee – heat in saucepan (can stir in cashews at this time and take out for later)

    Cook carrots in ghee constantly turning while slowly sprinkling in carrot juice and heavy cream to moisten (not wet) mixture.

    Add sugar to taste (can be blended with juice or cream).

    Continue to stir (and add juice or cream if it gets too dry) and add raisins, etc., when satisfied with consistency.

    PS – This recipe can also be made raw by not cooking carrots and adding less liquid and letting it chill to absorb flavors (even overnight in tightly covered container).

    Warning: The consistency of juiced carrot pulp will be different than grated carrots – so be careful to not overcook or they will become mashed.

    1. Hi Afra,

      We have not tried it but evaporated milk is regular milk with about 60% moisture removed. You can try milk powder and add 60% less water than what the instructions say.

  10. Hi Hetal n Anuja,
    I made carrot halwa few months before on stove n it took me 2-3hrs. I wish I’d known about your website then. Thanks for this quick n easy idea, I’m definately gonna try it. I came to know about your website last month and so much addicted to it now :).

    Thank you so much,
    Prerna

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