Gajar ka Halwa is an Indian Carrot Pudding that is made during the festival season, especially Diwali. It’s perfect with a cup of masala chai.
What is Gajar ka Halwa?
Gajar ka Halwa in English translates to “Carrot Pudding”. This Indian Carrot Pudding is also known as Gajrela (Carrot Halwa) that’s super easy to make. Gajar Halwa is prepared with ghee, carrots, milk, sugar, cardamom, and nuts. This is a Punjabi dessert that is widely popular in North India, especially during the winter months and Diwali season. This nutritious Gajrela recipe can be enjoyed both hot or cold. I personally love my Gajrela Halwa warm.
There are many different ways of preparing Gajar ka Halwa, some make it with evaporated milk while others use condensed milk. My version uses whole milk which is how my mom has been making it for as long as I can remember. For this sweet dessert, you can go as crazy as you want with ghee and sugar, however for my version I use 2 tbsp of ghee with a minimal amount of sugar needed. Additionally, this halwa is an excellent source of Vitamin A.
Can I make Gajrela Vegan?
I know many of you are going to ask. 🙂 My response – yes and no. You can certainly replace whole milk with cashew milk. Gajrela is delicious with cashew milk as seen in my Paleo Gajar ka Halwa. With that said, you need ghee for that richness and nutty flavor you can’t possibly get with oil. My response to this question is that you can go partially vegan with this recipe.
Can I use butter instead of ghee to make Gajar ka Halwa?
Yes, you can, but it won’t taste as amazing. 🙂 Here – I’ve even tested a recipe here – I wasn’t too happy with the result – this is an old post. With that said, my Paleo Gajar ka Halwa turned out really good, however I did use ghee since ghee is paleo-approved. For the paleo version, I replaced sugar with coconut sugar.
Since my recipe only uses about two tablespoons of ghee, I highly recommend using ghee. You can cut it down to one tablespoon of ghee if you wish. Ghee just adds a certain richness and nuttiness that butter just can’t compete.
6 Ingredients you will need for Gajar ka Halwa:
Carrots: You need to grate the carrots and make sure you use the fine (thinner) side of the grater.
Ghee: This recipe uses a total of 2 tablespoons of ghee, divided. Please don’t use butter for this recipe, the taste is simply not the same.
Milk: I recommend using whole milk for this recipe, however if you want to cut down on some fat, you may also use reduced-fat 2% milk.
Sugar: I don’t like overly sweet desserts, so I used just the right amount of sugar in this recipe. Also remember, carrots are naturally sweet.
Cardamom Powder: A touch of cardamom powder goes a long way. You can make some in a coffee grinder, or you can easily find some at Whole Foods.
Cashews: Chop some cashews and this will be added towards the end of the recipe.
Gajar ka Halwa is:
Decadent
Delicious
Flavorful
Gluten-Free
Nutritious
Perfect for Festivals
Paleo (replace sugar with coconut sugar, here is my Paleo Gajar ka Halwa recipe)
How to make Gajar ka Halwa recipe step by step?
1. Peel the carrots. Shred the carrots using the smaller side of the shredder. You can do it by hand or use a food processor.
2. Heat a wok on medium heat, once hot, add 1 tbsp of ghee.
3. Add the carrots and saute for about 8 minutes until the color of the carrots changes.
4. Keep stirring to avoid burning. This is a labor of love.
5. Add milk to the carrots. Cook the carrots and milk down for 6-7 minutes until all the milk is absorbed by the carrots.
6. Keep stirring to avoid sticking and burning.
7. Once all the milk is absorbed, this is what you should have.
8. Add the sugar.
9. Immediately after, add 1 more tbsp of ghee.
10. Keep stirring. until all the water is absorbed which is left behind by the sugar. This process will take about 5-6 minutes.
11. Once done, add cardamom powder. Stir.
12. Add chopped cashews. You can also add almonds, pistachios, and raisins, however I just stick with cashews.
13. Mix well.
14. Dry roast the Carrot Pudding for a couple more minutes so the color of the carrots deepens slightly. Turn off the stove.
Enjoy with a cup of Kadak Masala Chai!
More Indian Desserts
- Ras Malai Mousse
- Rice Kheer | Indian Rice Pudding
- Rose Water Almond Cake
- Healthy Almond Date Ladoo
- Milk Peda
Gajar ka Halwa - Indian Carrot Pudding
Equipment
Ingredients
for Gajar ka Halwa
- 2 tbsp ghee divided (1 tbsp and 1 tbsp)
- 4 cups organic carrots peeled & shredded
- 1 1/2 cups organic whole milk
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup cashews unsalted chopped
for garnish
- 1 tbsp pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Peel the carrots. Shred the carrots using the smaller side of the shredder. You can do it by hand or use a food processor.
- Heat a wok on medium heat, once hot, add 1 tbsp of ghee.
- Add the carrots and saute for about 8 minutes until the color of the carrots changes.
- Keep stirring to avoid burning. This is a labor of love.
- Add milk to the carrots. Cook the carrots and milk down for 6-7 minutes until all the milk is absorbed by the carrots.
- Keep stirring to avoid sticking and burning.
- Once all the milk is absorbed, this is what you should have.
- Add the sugar.
- Immediately after, add 1 more tbsp of ghee.
- Keep stirring. until all the water is absorbed which is left behind by the sugar. This process will take about 5-6 minutes.
- Once done, add cardamom powder. Stir.
- Add chopped cashews. You can also add almonds, pistachios, and raisins, however I just stick with cashews.
- Mix well.
- Dry roast the Gajar ka Halwa for a couple more minutes so the color of the carrots deepens slightly.
- Enjoy with a cup of my Kadak Masala Chai.
A foodie who is passionate about living a healthy-ish lifestyle, cooking, and traveling. You'll find a mix of everything here and lots of seasonal content. I moved from Jersey City leaving behind my family & friends to beautiful Southern California for love. I'm adjusting to the laid-back SoCal lifestyle and learning a lot about myself along the way. Come join me on a soul searching journey and I'll tell YOU "what's cooking" through my love for food, fashion, and travel.
This looks delicious!!! I love recipes that highlight the sweet side of carrots.
delicious yummy dessert
happy diwali
check out the event in my site
Aww! This is yummmmm!! Gona def try it!!
i just had about 2 tbls of this at an indian restaurant today. i wanted to go back and gobble down the whole tray at the buffet. NEVER new carrots could be this incredibly delicious. i'm saving your recipe. thx!!!
@Maharet – Yes, carrots are actually sweet and make great desserts (carrot cake, too). Glad you enjoyed the dish, it's pretty rich, my version is probably a lot more toned down in fat, but still somewhat fatty. 🙂
I tried making this and it came out excellent. it tasted really good!! the only problem i had was that the milk took toooooo long to evaporate (longer than what it looked like in your pictures) and my halwa turned into mush. I know that usually we would still be able to feel bites of carrot in the halwa, like in ur end result picture, but mine was totally mush (still tasted amazing though)! i followed your recipe to the T. where did i go wrong? maybe add in a lil more carrots?? oh, and instead of using 2% milk, i used full fat, as I had run out of 2%..
@rainz – honestly, that sounds right. It should sort of look like mush, the carrots soften up, but you shouldn't have a real bite to the carrots. By step #10 – is that how yours looked? If so, then it sounds okay to me. 🙂
I guess it did look the same. Yours just looks so much more glam! 🙂 And your color turned out much darker than mine, but i guess that depends on the carrots used.
Nonetheless, it tastes amazing! 🙂 Thnx!
@rainz – well, I also plated my halwa in a nice bowl and took a picture of it under broad daylight which helps. 🙂 You're being too hard on yourself. Yes, the color of carrots is different. I know in India the carrots are dark orange.
I tried it with butter as I did not have ghee and it turned out amazing! My husband love gajar ka halwa but unfortunately I dont have a food processor yet and hand grating them is a pain(quite literally)-shireen
Thanks.. so glad you liked it. Yes, grating can be pretty time consuming. 🙂
So on point and delicious!!
I made your Gajar ka halwa today. It was Yummm ??
Just made this today! It was delicious! My husband can’t stop eating it! Thank you for sharing!
This tasted so good! It doesn’t need much ghee either. Can’t stop eating.
I have been preparing Gajar ka halwa in a cooker all My life and it was never satisfying. Now I know wat was wrong ?. I exactly copied ur recipe. Nd oh my my it was a hit. Perfection??
This is my go to website for everything. This recipe is delightfully flavorful . My whole family enjoyed it since it was creamy and didn’t feel heavy. Delicious !
Definitely the best gajar ka halwa I have ever made and tasted. This was an absolute hit with my family. Thanks Nisha!
Followed the recipe and halwa was on point, so delicious &hearty! My family loved it, cant wait to make it during Diwali this year! 🧡🧡🧡 Thank you Nisha.
I suddenly realized I hadn’t eaten this in ages – maybe a decade. And started craving it! Found your recipe, I made my own ghee as I forgot to buy some. The issue I had was, also, that the milk never got soaked up by the carrots. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep on cooking it (it was going on 15 mn) so I quickly added about a tsp of cornstarch that I had diluted in a bit of water. It helped the mixture solidify a little bit.
End result tastes good, and it’s not too sweet. I added some raisins, as the cashews (IMHO) don’t add much flavor… just extra calories! I also added a tsp or so of orange blossom water as the cardamom tasted rather bitter.
Thank you!
Hmm.. sorry about that. Did you grate the carrots or did you buy shredded carrots? The milk should have been absorbed by the carrots. Thank you for your input. Glad it still tasted good.