Gajar Ka Halwa - Carrot Pudding

Gajar Ka Halwa or Gajar Halwa, our dessert today, is from beautiful Punjab. A traditional Indian dessert made of shredded carrots and milk. Low in calories, creamy pudding, perfumed with saffron and cardamom. It is similar to my Rice Kheer Recipe (Indian Rice Pudding). Gajar ka Halwa is made at weddings and on special occasions, but I’m not waiting for someone to get married or throw a party to enjoy this delight. Please watch the video tutorial in this post to learn how to make this Halwa!

What is Gajar Halwa?

Gajar Halwa is a delicious and creamy Indian dessert, made of simple ingredients like milk, carrot, and sugar. Gajar Ka Halwa is served and made on special occasions and on festivals. There are different variations of this dessert. Some make it with cream; others make it with Khoya. This dessert is garnished with nuts and dry fruits and is best served warm.

Gajar Halwa Ingredients

Carrots. Use red and orange carrots are fine.

Butter or ghee.

Water.

Sugar.

Whole milk.

Saffron and cardamom.  

Making Gajar Ka Halwa

It’s amazing how you turn a vegetable like a carrot to an excellent tasting dessert. This creamy in texture, rich, and sophisticated delicacy is now with fewer calories than the authentic recipe, with less ghee or butter and less sugar.

I am not following the exact authentic method of making gajar ka halwa, because we are trying to make it low in calories, we won’t use cream in making Gajar halwa, but the result will be a satisfying treat. To make gajar halwa, orange and red-colored carrots can be used.

We start by adding butter and shredded carrot to a pan and frying the carrot on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then we add water and let the mixture simmer until the water evaporates. We are cooking the carrot in water and not milk to avoid using more milk, and you don’t have to worry about the milk burning at the bottom of the pan and spend time continuously stirring the mixture.

Later we add the sugar and the milk with cardamom powder and saffron threads.

We cook the mixture until creamy, and if you wish, you can add a tablespoon of butter at the end to make the dish creamier.  

 Low in Calories And amazing

Usually, a serving of gajar ka halwa has 350 calories or maybe more. My version of gajar halwa has 204 calories, but you get to enjoy the same delicious taste. I promise that you’ll lick the spoon clean after tasting this dessert!

How to make a good Gajar Halwa?

1. Use whole milk. Gajar ka halwa is a rich and creamy dessert, using low-fat or skim milk will change the texture and flavor.
2. Use orange color or red color carrots. These two types are sweet and mostly used in making this dessert. Depending on the season, at times carrots might not have enough sweetness, it’s best to taste the carrot before using it in the recipe, this will help you adjust the amount of sugar.
3. After adding the milk, keep a close eye on the dessert. The milk, if not stirred occasionally it will burn and stick to the bottom, which will ruin the dessert.
4. Use ghee instead of butter for more flavor, and if you want more richness, add one tablespoon cream at the end instead of butter.
5. Finely grate the carrot; it will cook faster, saving you more time.