Wednesday 22 April 2015

Carrot Halwa



A few months ago my husband & I were out of town and our hotel restaurant was offering a three course Indian meal for that particular evening. Being that my husband can have so little to no cholesterol & me not being a dessert fan he was going to skip the dessert but I wanted to just taste it as I had no idea what it even was. What is Carrot Halwa or traditionally Gajar Ka Halwa? 
Curiosity got to me :). 

  1. Gajar Ka Halwa is a sweet dessert pudding associated mainly with the North India and Pakistan. It is made by placing grated carrot in a pot containing a specific amount of water, milk and sugar and then cooking while stirring regularly. Wikipedia

I have to say I WAS SO GLAD we tried it as this was so amazing and right then & there I knew I had to replicate it so my family but mostly my husband could enjoy it too. Took me this long to give it a try. Yesterday I googled a few recipes. I decided on one I wanted to try and make my own. My inspiration came from "Veg Recipes From India". I'll post their website at the end so you can take a look at their recipe and see where I made my substitutes. 
Here is how I made Carrot Halwa

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Ingredient's

2 1/2 C grated carrots
3 C cashew milk ( or one of your choice ) for Paleo see recipe below :) 
6 Tbsps coconut palm sugar 
1/3 C cashews
3 medjool dates
8 cardamon pods
2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
**use organic when possible
Yields approx 4 servings of 1/2 cup each


Method

Soak cashews & dates & set aside.
Grate carrots by hand or in your mixer/processor add to a pot with the milk.
Simmer for approximately 15 mins with stirring every 5 minutes or more.
Grind cardamon pods and add to the pot.
When the mixture starts to thicken add sugar & oil. ( Approx 20 mins )
Stir often till the mix really starts thickening up.
Drain cashews & dates and add them to your mixer/processor to make a paste then add it to the pot. 
Turn the temperature down, mix the paste in well & cook for a few more minutes.
All done! Serve warm or cold topped with crushed cashews & more grated carrots.

How to make your own nut milk

You can make your own nut milk at home by soaking nuts overnight in water and then blending the nuts and water in a high-powered blender. Strain the liquid through a few layers of cheesecloth or a nut bag. Store in the refrigerator and use within three to four days. It's so delicious!


I am so very pleased how this recipe turned out. I even got the picky kids two thumbs up on it. I did originally use 8 Tbsp of sugar just like the below website used but for us it's a bit too sweet. That's where I changed it to 6 Tbsp, but I'm thinking maybe even 4-5 Tbsp would work still very well.
** tip** maybe add 4 tbsp & work your way up to your liking. The only thing is the sugar is what's helping thicken the dish up. Play around with it. I do know 6 Tbsp will work fine though by how mine thickened up on 8 Tbsps. If you have a sweet tooth no need for change :) 

How I also thought this recipe could be served is in some sort of a homemade nut/seed/oatmeal shell or on top of oatmeal. That's to try for next time. However you make this whether my version or another, I hope you enjoy and mostly may you be Nutritionally Well.

Veg Recipes of India - Indian Food Blog on Vegetarian & Vegan ...

www.vegrecipesofindia.com/
Indian Food blog sharing Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes from India as well as from World Cuisine.


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