Healthier Gajar Ka Halwa | Indian Carrot Pudding (healthier dessert, gluten-free)

This past weekend was awesome hanging out with my buddies Jhiane and Marian.  Honestly speaking, we didn’t even do anything productive, yet it was loads of fun.  Friday I made my Broccoli Mac & Cheese (REDUCED FAT) which I loved, however my friends thought I overloaded on the red pepper… sorry guys, I guess more for me.  🙂 In the evening, my friends met up with me for shopping and then we all headed to Eataly for paninis and Billy’s Bakery for divine cupcakes.  Oh yeah!  We came back to my place and sat around eating, watching movies, drinking wine, and gossiping.  Btw… I totally recommend watching It’s Complicated with Meryl if you haven’t already seen it.  In a nutshell, it was the perfect weekend with friends.

Looking back, I’ve always been one to find a balance between my family (including my husband) & my friends.  I feel it’s vital to maintain your friendships while you are married and giving your partner space in a marriage.  For me hanging with friends and acting like I’m five years old will never get old.  I totally see myself doing sleepovers with my buddies in my 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and more.  My friends and I often sit around envisioning the kinda places we’d hang at when we are much, much older.  Once all of us are eventually settled in our married lives, I hope we can still manage to find time for one another despite life’s challenges.  For now, I can only pray these friendships never change.

So as you can tell, I’ve been on a carrot kick lately.  I recently posted Gajar Ka Halwa (full fat version) and Carrot & Pineapple Cupcakes (reduced fat version).  Here comes another version of Gajar Ka Halwa, only healthier.  I had some carrots lying around that I needed to use up and I avoided baking a cake to further fatten myself up, instead I went for a healthier Gajar Ka Halwa.  The original Gajar Ka Halwa made with Ghee (clarified butter) tasted much richer, however this version was really good with only 1 tbsp of butter.  I can honestly say I didn’t feel as though anything was missing.  Verdict?  

TELL ME: Do you maintain your friendships while married?  If so, how do you do it?  Sleepovers?  Girlfriend Getaways?

NUTRITION: Carrots are LOADED with Vitamin A (eyes).  Also, it is a very good source of Fiber, Vitamins C and K.  Milk adds some Calcium and Protein to this dish.  Cashews add a good amount of Protein to this dish as well.  Raisins are known to be an antioxidant rich fruit.  

MODIFICATIONS I MADE:

• Instead of using cream, whole milk, and evaporated milk, I used 2% Reduced Fat Milk.
• Instead of using Ghee (clarified butter), I just used 1 tbsp of butter.
• I added a few raisins to make this sweet more healthful.

APPROXIMATE NUTRITION PER SERVING (yields 2 servings)

• Calories: 310 cals
• Fat: 11 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.5 g
• Carbs: 49 g
• Protein: 6.4 g
• Fiber: 3.6 g

~ yields 2 servings
~ fat reduced by 33%; saturated fat reduced by 33%; calories reduced by 9% – I compared this to the original recipe posted here.  Although calories weren’t significantly reduced, the fat and saturated fat were reduced by a good amount. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Unsalted Butter – 1 tbsp
• Carrots – 2 cups (peeled & shredded)
• Milk 2% Reduced Fat – 1 cup
• Cardamom Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Sugar – 1/4 cup
• Raisins – 1 tbsp (optional)
• Cashews – 5 (chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop the cashews and set aside.  You can choose to dry roast them first, I didn’t.

2. Peel & shred the carrots.

3. Heat a wok on medium heat.  Once hot, add a tbsp of butter and let it melt.

4. Add shredded carrots and cook for about 8 minutes or until the carrots absorb the butter and cook down.  Keep stirring.

5. Add milk.  Allow the milk to cook for 6 minutes, notice the carrots will soften and the milk will evaporate slightly.  Keep stirring. 

6. Add cardamom powder.

7. Add sugar.

8. Combine.  Increase temperature to medium-high heat.

9. Allow the milk & carrot mixture to boil, keep stirring.  

10. Once evaporated, add a tbsp of raisins.

11. Add half the cashews.

12. Garnish with remaining chopped cashews.

OVERALL RATING: 4.5 / 5
I really enjoyed the healthier Gajar Ka Halwa.  It certainly wasn’t as rich as the original recipe, however it was still good, a little lighter on the palette.  Next time though, I’m going to skip the raisins since I don’t care for the added sweetness it brings to the Gajar Ka Halwa. 
Texture: The texture of this sweet was slightly creamy and soft.  The carrots weren’t as mushy as they were in the original recipe.  Of course that is due to the missing fat in this recipe.  I would experiment and add another 1/2 cup of milk and see if this changes the texture of the carrots.  
Moistness: I was able to taste the slight flavor of butter in this recipe, the carrots were definitely moist.

TELL ME: Do you maintain your friendships while married?  If so, how do you do it?  Sleepovers?  Girlfriend Getaways?