My mind blowing gajar ka halwa

Ok, just a couple more from the old blog and I'll put up the new ones soon!

Gajar ka halwa is SO Hindi filmi. The hindi film mother usually knows how to make only two desserts. One is kheer and the other is gajar ka halwa. And like many heroes in Hindi films who proclaim after eating the halwa or kheer, \’ma! jee karta hai main tumhare ungliyan choomloon\’, I too used to feel the same after eating the gajar ka halwa made by my mother.

Its odd, but gajar ka halwa was the first thing I learnt to cook. Ammi taught me her special recipe(which is no secret as I\’m going to write it here), and I\’ve been a gajar ka halwa aficionado ever since.

I learnt that most people preferred to let the grated carrots cook in milk, and then they add khova, and sugar and the nuts if preferred. My method is slightly different, and a whole lot more fattening and hence, much more delish! – Warning! I never use exact ingredients. I belong to the to the school of thought that believes that cooking is an art and not a science. Hence, very rarely I use exact ingredients, except maybe for the carrots.

Gajar Ka Halwa

1 kg carrots
at least 1/4 to 1/2 cup ghee
2 and 1/2 cups sugar
at least 2 cups khova
milk – I dont use any fixed quantity for this, but you can probably use at least a cup of milk. If you feel its less, use some more
nuts
patta, laung, elaichi (it seems odd to call this famous trio by their english names of cinnamon, cloves and cardamom!)

1. Wash, and scrape the carrots and grate them.


2. Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed pan.


3. Add the patta, laung and elaichi.


4. Add the grated carrots and fry them in the ghee until the ghee is completely absorbed and the colour of the carrots changes sufficiently.


5. Add milk, cook while stirring continuously.


6. Add the khova and stir so it disintegrates completely.


7. Once the carrots are completely cooked, add the sugar.


8. Watch out now, as the sugar starts sputtering in the halwa and you\’ll get scorched by little itsy bits of halwa flying around if you\’re not careful!


9. The mantra now is cook, cook and cook.


10. The halwa should now look glazed orange, and that, my dear is the difference between this halwa and any other gajar ka halwa!


11. Garnish with nuts. You can fry the nuts in ghee if you are on a calorie consuming spree of course!