Carrot Halwa/Ghajar Ka Halwa

Carrot Halwa/Ghajar Ka Halwa

Ingredients 

1. Shredded carrots 20 oz(284 grams)

2. Whole milk 1/2 cup

3. Sugar 1-2 cups

4. Khoya/mawa milk powder 1-2 cups(I used mawa milk powder)

5. Cardamom powder 1/4 tsp 

6. Raisins 10

7. Cashews 15

8. Ghee 3 tbsp plus 1 tbsp for frying the cashews & raisins 

Method Of Preparation 

1. Add 3 tbsp ghee in a pressure cooker. When it is hot, add the shredded carrots & sauté for about 4 minutes. 

2. Add milk to the carrots & pressure cook for around 6 whistles. Wait for the pressure to release. Now open the cooker & you should see the carrots softened. Using your ladle, mash the carrots a little. If there's any liquid(milk) in the pressure cooker, then cook the carrots on a medium flame till all the water evaporates.

3. Now add the mawa milk powder or khoya & mix it well with the carrots & bind them together & cook for a minute. Now you will see the carrots beginning to stick to the bottom of the pressure cooker. It should stick but shouldnt burn(see pic).

4. At this point, add the sugar & mix well. When you add the sugar, you will see the carrots attain a nice bright red color. 

5. The halwa will once again become liquidy once you add the sugar. On a medium flame, cook till all the water evaporates & the halwa thickens. Alternatively, if there is a lot of liquid & if you want, after adding sugar you can pressure cook for two whistles & then turn off the gas. When you open the pressure cooker, you will see a very beautiful color & texture. 

6. Sprinkle cardamom powder & give it a stir.

7. In a pan, add ghee. When the ghee gets hot, add cashews & fry till they become golden brown. Remove from the ghee & add it to the halwa. Now add the raisins, when they puff up in the ghee, add them to the halwa along with the ghee. 

Notes: 

1. You can add as little as 1 cup of khoya or as much as 2 cups of khoya. If you want a richer texture, add more khoya. It will taste good either ways. 

2. Add 1 cup of sugar & do a taste test. If you feel it's less, add one more cup. 

3. You can also add almonds & pistachios along with raisins & cashews. 

4. You may add the raisins & nuts to the ghee before adding the carrots. That is when the ghee gets hot, add the cashews & raisins & fry them well in the ghee & then add the carrots.

5. Pressure cooking after adding the sugar is optional. You may do it if there's too much water in the halwa. Pressure cooking gives a very bright color to the halwa. If there's not much water in the halwa, then you can even pressure cook upto 1 whistle instead of two.

Badam Halwa/Almond Halwa/Almond Fudge

Badam Halwa/Almond Halwa/Almond Fudge 

Ingredients 

1. Badam/almonds 1 cup    

2. Whole Milk 1 cup with a few saffron strands soaked in the milk      

3. Green cardamoms 4 or cardamom powder 

4. Sugar 11/2 cups         

5. Water 1/2 cup         

6. Saffron strands soaked in 1/4 cup milk 

7. Ghee 3/4cup(add 2-3 tbsp more if you find the halwa sticky)

Method Of Preparation 

1. Blanch The Almonds & Make A Paste

I'm going to show you a very easy-peasy way to blanch the almonds where you don't have to put in any effort to peel the skin. 

A. Fill a saucepan with water & bring it to a rolling boil.

B. Add almonds to the boiling water. Let it stay in the water for exactly a minute. 

C. Turn off the gas & transfer the almonds onto a colander & rinse it under cold running water to stop the cooking process.

D. Pat dry the almonds & place an almond in between your thumb & index finger & give the broad end of the almond a gentle press, it will come off the skin. 

E. Your almonds are now ready to be ground to a paste. 

2. Grinding The Almonds 

A. Take a cup of milk & soak some saffron stands in it. Add the blanched almonds to this milk & let them remain in the milk for a minute.

B. In a blender add the almonds & saffron soaked milk & cardamoms or cardamom powder. 

C. Blend everything together to a coarse paste. Do not blend it too fine, let it be the consistency of idly batter(a little coarse).

3. Making The Halwa

A. In a heavy bottomed pan, add 1/2 cup of water & sugar. 

B. On a medium flame, Keep stirring until the sugar completely dissolves in water.

C. Then increase the flame & let the water boil. Do not stir now. 

D. Once the water starts boiling turn off the flame & immediately add the ground almond mixture. Mix it well with the water & turn on the flame to low. 

E. On a low flame, start stirring the almond mixture. Stir the mixture until there are no more or only a couple of bubbles in the mixture or until the mixture is no more liquidy & has become a little thick(only a little thick). This takes around 25 minutes. Make sure the entire stirring is done on a low flame.

F. After 25 minutes, add the saffron soaked milk (1/4 cup) & again stir it continuously but gently for two minutes or until all the milk is absorbed. 

G. Now add 1/4 cup ghee, mix it well & stir till all the ghee is absorbed. 

H. Again add 1/4 cup more, mix it well & stir till all the ghee is absorbed. Repeat it again for another 1/4 cup of ghee. You need to add ghee till you get a very soft, glossy, melt in the mouth consistency halwa.

I. Keep stirring till the halwa no more sticks to the sides of the pan. After 25 minutes, you will have to cook for another 12 minutes for the halwa to be done fully. 

J. After 12 minutes or after all the ghee is absorbed & the halwa stops sticking to the sides of the pan & gets a little thick, stop stirring the halwa. When you stop stirring, you will see bubbles forming on the halwa, that is when you know your halwa is done & that you need to turn off the flame. 

H. Do not cook the halwa till it becomes too thick. It will thicken a while after its done. If you let it thicken on the gas, then by the time it cools down, your halwa will become hard & chewy. So turn off the gas at the right moment. Take a little on your ladle & see, the halwa will look glossy & no more grainy & when you taste it, it will melt in your mouth. If you need to make burfis with this, then cook till it gets a little more thicker. 

How To Check The Halwa For Doneness

1. You will see bubbles on the halwa, that is when you need to turn off the flame.

2. When u move the spatula from one end to the other end of the pan & try to take some halwa on the spatula, it should feel a little heavy. It should only feel a little heavy & not too much. If it feels too heavy or difficult to take some halwa on the spatula, then it means you have cooked it too much & by the time your halwa cools down, it will become hard & chewy.

3. Take a little halwa on your finger to see if it's sticky. If it's not sticky, then your halwa is done. 

4. Try to take a little & roll it in between ur fingers. If your able to make a ball out of it, then it's done. 

5. Using your ladle, take some halwa & drop it from a height, it needs to fall like that of dosa batter, a little thick but flowy. That is again an indication that your halwa is done. 

6. Take a little halwa and pat it on a parchment paper & when you try to remove it, it should come off easily & not stick to the paper. 

You will be able to do 3, 4 & 6 only after the halwa has cooled down completely. 

After the halwa is cooled, If you still find it sticky, put it back in the pan & add 2-3 tbsp ghee & stir it well till all the ghee is absorbed. 

Notes

1. Do not boil the almonds for more than a minute, otherwise, it will become too soft.

2. You can reduce or increase the quantity of sugar if you want to. 

3. Cook only on a low flame. Do not increase the flame at any point of time.

4. Cook the halwa only on a heavy bottomed pan or a non stick pan, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan & burn the halwa.

5. I have also made this halwa with just 3 tbsp ghee & it still tasted very good. So, if you are calorie conscious, then you can reduce the quantity of ghee :) when you reduce the ghee, your halwa will not turn out glossy but it will still taste good. 

6. Add the ground almond mixture only after the sugar in the water completely dissolves.

Fruits Custard

Fruits Custard 

Ingredients 

1. Whole milk/Full fat milk 23/4 cups

2. Sugar 8 tbsp 

3. Custard powder 21/2 tbsp 

4. Chopped fruits of your choice 11/2 cup(I added kiwi, pomegranate, papaya, strawberries, apples & bananas. You can also add chickoo, grapes, blueberries & musk melon. You may avoid watermelon.

Method Of Preparation 

1. Add milk in a heavy bottomed pan & bring it to a boil on a medium heat. Lower the heat once the milk has boiled & add sugar & stir well until the sugar dissolves in the milk.

2. In a bowl, add the custard powder & to it add 4 tbsp boiled milk(from the pan).

3. Stir it well & make a lump free fine paste out of it.

4. Add the paste to the milk little at a time & keep stirring it continuously for about 6 minutes on a low flame & then turn off the gas. You need to stay near the gas & stir continuously otherwise the paste will form lumps in the milk. 

5. Allow the custard to cool & then refrigerate it for an hour. The custard further thickens on cooling.

6. Add the custard in a bowl, add the fruits over it & serve chilled.

Notes:

1. Add the chopped fruits only at the time of serving.