I've been wanting to make carrot halwa for about two years. The first time I tried it was at a diversity event at work, and I loved its flavor and texture. When I got home, I found a recipe, saw that it was time consuming, and added it to my "things to make in the future" list. A week or so later, Scott and I were eating at the Indian restaurant behind our apartment, and they had it on their menu. I was incredibly excited to introduce the dessert to Scott and have a source of carrot halwa so close to home. If I could pop into the restaurant and buy some whenever the urge hit, I wouldn't have to reduce lots of milk and grate carrots! It was perfect!
I ate my meal full of anticipation for the moment when the waiter would ask if we wanted dessert. The time finally arrived, and I made my request. The waiter paused, pen in mid air, looked at me with a puzzled expression, and said, "Is that on the menu? We've never made any carrot halwa in the history of the restaurant!" He then asked me, "Do you know how much time it takes to make carrot halwa?" and launched into a lengthy discussion about the cooking process. So much for my dream of eating it whenever I wanted!
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| Milk and carrot mixture just before the butter, cardamom, and strained raisins are added. |
Notes:
You'll want to use a heavy-bottomed pot to make this recipe. This recipe takes several hours to prepare (i.e., it took me about 6 hours). That being said, it tastes amazing and is definitely worth the effort if you like carrot halwa. Pay special attention to stirring well because milk can easily burn. I was a little timid at first and had the heat very low for reducing the milk and then cooking the milk and carrots. Eventually, I turned the heat to medium-low and just stirred more regularly to speed the process up. Use your best judgment for the cooking temperature. The higher the heat, the more frequently you will need to stir it; the lower the heat, the less likely it is to burn, and the longer it will take to cook. The further along in the recipe you get, especially once the carrots and then the sugar are added, the more you will need to stir it.
Disclaimer: This may not be a perfectly authentic recipe. I was in a bit of a rush towards the end and just used regular butter as opposed to making and using ghee. If you have an extra few minutes, go ahead and make some ghee and try using it instead of butter. A food processor is helpful in grating the carrots quickly and easily. Also, adding the sugar to the almonds before they are processed will prevent them from turning into a paste. Also, cashews could be used instead of almonds.
Since it would be time consuming and messy to measure the milk once it had started cooking to determine when it had reduced to 12 cups, I started by pouring 12 cups of milk into my pot, and then put a wooden spoon into the milk until it reached the bottom of the pot. I pulled out the wooden spoon and cut a small notch in it at the level where the milk stopped to mark 12 cups. I then added the remaining 4 cups of milk. When the milk level reached the notch, I knew that I had reduced the milk from 16 to 12 cups. Also, since you will be stirring often and for a long time, make sure that you use a wooden spoon that is unstained (i.e., without any cooking odors) so that you don't end up accidentally flavoring your carrot halwa with something that you made last week. I prefer to eat this cold, but it can also be served hot.
Recipe adapted from The Calcutta Cookbook: A Treasury of Recipes from Pavement to Palace
Ingredients:
2-2⅓ pounds grated carrots (7-8 cups)
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
½ cup golden raisins
16 cups whole milk (1 gallon)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-1¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/8 teaspoons ground cardamom
toasted sliced almonds for garnish (optional)
Prep Ingredients:
Peel and grate the carrots, place them in a large bowl, and refrigerate for later use. In a clean food processor, process the toasted almonds with the 2 tablespoons of sugar until they are finely ground, and set aside for later use. Rinse the raisins, place them in a bowl with 1 cup of warm water, and set aside for later use.
Reduce the Milk:
Measure 12 cups of milk into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Insert a clean wooden spoon into the milk until it touches the bottom of the pot, remove, and cut a small notch in the spoon where the milk stops to identify 12 cups of liquid (see Notes for additional details). Add the remaining 4 cups of milk to the pot, bring to a boil and cook, stirring regularly, until the milk has reduced down to 12 cups. If you're feeling nervous about burning the milk, you can simmer it instead. Reducing the milk to 12 cups may take as long as 1½ hours.
Add the Carrots:
Once the milk is reduced, add the grated carrots and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer (over low or medium-low heat), stirring regularly. As the milk continues to reduce and the carrots soften, more stirring will be required to prevent burning. The mixture should reduce to a thick mass, and most of the liquid should be evaporated. You'll know when it is ready for the next step when you pull your spoon through the mixture and there is slight resistance and the milk and carrots don't immediately fill the space left behind by the spoon. This step may take 3-4 hours, depending on how high the heat is.
Finishing It Up:
Strain the raisins and discard the water. Add the butter, cardamom, and strained raisins to the carrot mixture, and stir well to melt the butter. Continue to cook over low or medium-low heat, stirring regularly until the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. This may take 20-30 minutes, depending on the level of the heat. Add 1 cup of sugar and the ground almonds. Taste to see if it is sweet enough; if it needs additional sugar, add the remaining ¼ cup. Cook the mixture until it is shiny and caramelized. This may take up to 15 minutes, depending on the heat. Serve either hot or cold, sprinkled with additional toasted sliced almonds, if desired. Store in the refrigerator.
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