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“There is a remarkable breakdown of taste and intelligence at Christmastime. Mature, responsible grown men wear neckties made of holly leaves and drink alcoholic beverages with raw egg yolks and cottage cheese in them.”
– P.J. O’Rourke
There were a lot many troubles going on for the last couple of weeks. My internet connection broke, and then the computer got virus infected and crashed. Above all my Masters first semester exams was going on. The net result, I was not able to write a post for almost a month now. At last hopefully everything is fine now, and back to form.
When it comes to a big get together, or a year end weekend party there has to be a mouthwatering and tempting dessert at the end of the dinner menu. It was my mom and sister’s birthday on 24th, and so the house was packed with guests and relatives. Searching through Sanjeev Kapoor’s book on microwave cooking got hold of an easy way of cooking carrot pudding, the better way to call it – Gajar ka Halwa. The preparation turned out to be a very tasty one. I used the sugar free, as most of the family members are diabetic.
There is something very peculiar about this winter season. The weather is so dull and dry, but the veggies and fruits you get at this time of the year are so colorful. These days I just love going to the farmer’s market, shopping for vegetables – all of them looking so colorful and vibrant. The carrots in there bright reddish orange tinge are a must buy this season. Gajar halwa is best prepared with Delhi carrots, the ones that are long and reddish in color. Carrots are very good for the eyes due to the high amount of Vitamin A present.
Ingredients:
Carrots (Gajar): 1kg
Milk (Dudh): 1 ½ litre
Sugar (Chini): ½ cup
Khoya: 200gms
Clarified Butter (Ghee): 2 tablespoons
Cardamom (Elaichi): 3-4 powdered
Almonds (Kaath Badam): 12-14
Raisins (Kismis): 2 tablespoons, soaked
Preparation:
- Put the almonds in a microwave safe bowl and pour in water till they are covered fully. Microwave high uncovered for 3-4min. Take them out and cool those down till you can hold the nuts, peel off and chop into thin slices, keep aside.
- Take the grated carrots in a microwave safe deep bowl and mix well with 1 ½ tablespoon of ghee. Microwave high covered for 10min, or till they become soft. Stir once or twice in between
- Pour in the milk and again microwave high covered for 8-10mins, stirring once or twice in between.
- Add the sugar and khoya and cook in microwave high uncovered for 5-6min
- Take out and garnish with almonds, and raisins
Hot tips – While grating the carrots, it’s better to leave out the hard middle part of the carrot. You can put in a little coloring agent, to have the bright color of the halwa.
Further readings – Gajar Halwa by Bon Vivant
| 1 Serving of raw grated carrot | ||
| Amount Per Serving | ||
| Calories | 45.1 | |
| Total Fat | 0.3 g | |
| Saturated Fat | 0.0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.1 g | |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 0.0 g | |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg | |
| Sodium | 75.9 mg | |
| Potassium | 352.0 mg | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 10.5 g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.1 g | |
| Sugars | 5.0 g | |
| Protein | 1.0 g | |
| Vitamin A | 264.8 % |
| Vitamin B-12 | 0.0 % |
| Vitamin B-6 | 7.6 % |
| Vitamin C | 10.8 % |
| Vitamin D | 0.0 % |
| Vitamin E | 2.5 % |
| Calcium | 3.6 % |
| Copper | 2.5 % |
| Folate | 5.2 % |
| Iron | 1.8 % |
| Magnesium | 3.3 % |
| Manganese | 7.9 % |
| Niacin | 5.4 % |
| Pantothenic Acid | 3.0 % |
| Phosphorus | 3.9 % |
| Riboflavin | 3.8 % |
| Selenium | 0.2 % |
| Thiamin | 4.8 % |
| Zinc | 1.8 % |
Sending this recipe to my dear friend Radhika’s event for this month – Delectable Desserts, Pastries & Ice Creams, another friend Arundhuti has recently announced her first blog event, this carrot pudding is on her way to to her Served with Love event and also to MEC: Festive Food hosted by Cham, this event is the brain child of Srivalli
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Wow! I love Carrots. I have tried ‘Gajar ka Halwa’ with some other recipe. This is quite simple.Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Maryan, let us know how it was
Simple and great,
i love it but recently had a bad one in a restaurant which was a horror!! thanx for the recipe 🙂 looks great!
.-= BNDQ8´s last blog ..FONDUE Melt Away – Kuwait City =-.
You are most welcome. :). Do try it out and let me know.
Hi Sudeshna,
The halwa looks yummy. Belated B’day wishes for your mom and sis 🙂
I sent you an email couple of days ago..I’ve moved to http://www.ruchikacooks.com (took part in turmeric event from wordress) and I am adding you to my blogroll from ruchikacooks! Hope to see you there sometime.
Saw that you are hosting Monthly mingle too, will send an entry for sure.
Happy New Year!
Hi Ruchika,
I’ll be posting the Think Spice event roundup within the next two days. I have already started formatting things. I’ll put the link of your new site while posting the entry. But, have you redirected the links of your wordpress blog to the new site? Otherwise the post links wont work.
Yup! Have done that. Thanks (and sorry for the trouble)
.-= Ruchikacooks´s last blog ..Recipe Marathon: Day 5: Veggie Noodle Nests =-.
No issues :).
Great to hear from you after ages Sudeshna. Hope your tech problems are sorted out.
I still remember the first time I had h=gajar ka halwa. That was when I stayed with my grandparents for a year. My grandpa used to work in Delhi and my grandmom had picked up the recipe there. She made it for us in Calcutta.
Since then I have had it in the heart of delhi, Punjabi shops in Mumbai, Muslim shops during Ramzan…nothing matched hers. At the most the ones my Punjabi P G aunty would make. I guess love is a big ingredient behind great dishes
That is definitely true. The fish curry mom prepares is far better than the ones our cook makes even though he uses the same ingredients.
Hopefully the tech problems seem to be over now. But god knows when they start again. Can’t rely on BSNL broadband service much. 🙂
Glorious Halwa and have the perfect festive look. I love ur spoons too 🙂 Thanks for the lovely entry!
Thanks a lot for your lovely comment. These spoons have a little history. They were a gift from my maternal grand mom on my first rice ceremony.
perfect recipe for the season. beautiful set up too.
Sayantani,
Thanks a lot for the complement.
Lovely Gajar ka Halwa. Love the way you have given the nutritional values. And thanks for the entry. 🙂
.-= Arundhuti´s last blog ..Walnut ‘n Chocolate Chip Cake =-.
Thanks dear. Loved you idea of the event too.