Gajar Ka Halwa is the world-famous Indian carrot pudding, slow-cooked with grated carrot, cream, sugar and nuts. My express microwave version makes this delicious dessert in under 30 minutes in just one bowl with zero fuss. It tastes authentic and is perfect eaten warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!
Jump to:
What is Gajar Ka Halwa?
Gajar ka Halwa (roughly translates to a Halwa (Pudding) made of carrots) is a traditional Indian sweet or dessert that is made by slow cooking grated carrots with milk, cream, sugar, nuts and cardamom on low heat. The result is a delicious, vibrant orange treat that is best eaten warm or cold. It tastes like caramelised, pudding-like, grated carrot that literally melts in your mouth. This traditional dish is one of the most popular desserts made during big Indian festivals like Diwali and Holi.
Gajar Ka Halwa brings to mind little ornate steel bowls full of delicious, moist, beautifully textured carrot pudding garnished with slivered nuts and gold foil [varakh]. Hot ... Of course, fresh off the stove!! The typical Halwa, like the one Mum makes, takes anywhere between 2-6 hours simmering away on the stove. It takes constant stirring [so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn], constant adjusting of consistency [adding more milk or cream, adding more sugar] and a lot of love.
My mum always says that the longer you cook the halwa, the sweeter it becomes. Maybe it is just love after all ... the love of the person doing all the toiling away at the stove. Thanks to modern technology [microwave] and a lot of testing, I have conjured up my own version of the Microwave Gajar Ka Halwa. It takes 20 minutes to cook and tastes as good as the lengthy version, I promise!
Why make my Microwave Gajar Ka Halwa?
- Super short cooking time. Only 30 minutes as opposed to the traditional slow cooking method of 2-3 hours.
- This is the real deal! Tastes as authentic as the traditional version.
- Easy, one-bowl recipe. And a quick clean-up.
- Hands-free microwave cooking.
Ingredients
- Carrots - Grate carrots coarsely for a more textural gajar ka halwa or finely for a more pudding-like consistency.
- Sugar - Raw sugar can be substituted with white or brown sugar. For a vibrant orange colour, use raw or white sugar.
- Evaporated milk - This is available in cans in the baking or long-life milk section of the supermarket. It can be substituted with extra cream or condensed milk.
- Thickened cream and full-fat milk - Make sure your cream is at least 35% fat.
- Edible gold leaf - This is purely an option, but it adds a touch of elegance and opulence to the dessert. Edible gold or silver leaf is known as "varak" and is available at specialty baking stores or baking sections of supermarkets.
- Nuts & Dried Fruit (Almonds, Cashew nuts, Pistachios, Sultanas)
- Spices (Cardamom, Saffron, Nutmeg)
- Ghee - This is non-negotiable and gives it that traditional Indian taste.
How to make Gajar Ka Halwa?
- Grate carrots and mix with cream, milk, sugar and ghee in a bowl.
- Mix well and microwave on full power for 10 minutes.
3. Add nuts, dried fruit, sugar and spices to the carrot mix.
4. Mix well and microwave for another 15 minutes until the mixture starts to caramelise.
5. Microwave until all liquid has evaporated.
6. Spread in a lined container, smooth top and garnish with slivered nuts and edible gold leaf.
Storage & Serving Suggestions
Gajar Ka Halwa keeps fresh in the fridge in an air-tight glass container for up to five days.
It can be served cold or slightly warmed up in the microwave. It is usually served on its own or with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
More Diwali recipes
Recipe
Hungry For More Recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter. Check out Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see everything I share! And if you love cooking and new cookbooks, join my free Cooking Club on Facebook!
Microwave Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)
Ingredients
- 700 g grated carrot
- 300 ml thickened cream, (at least 35% milk fat)
- ¾ cup (160 g) raw sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) full fat milk
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon saffron
- 2 tablespoons almond meal
- ¼ cup (35 g) sultanas
- ¼ cup (35 g) cashew nuts, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) evaporated milk
- 2 sheets Edible gold leaf, for topping
Instructions
- Add grated carrot, cream, raw sugar, milk and ghee to a large microwaveable bowl.
- Mix with a spoon and microwave on full power (P10) for 10 minutes.
- Reserve some saffron and pistachios for garnish. Add remaining saffron and pistachios along with cardamom, nutmeg, almond meal, sultanas, cashew nuts, brown sugar and evaporated milk to the bowl. Mix well and microwave on full power (P10) for 15 minutes.
- Remove from microwave, mix gently and microwave for a further 8 minutes on full power (P10).
- Remove from the microwave. Line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper. Spoon the carrot halwa into the lined tin and smooth the top.
- Gently place gold foil on top of the carrot halwa. Garnish with reserved saffron and pistachios. Cool completely and slice or spoon to eat.
Notes
- Carrots - Grate carrots coarsely for a more textural gajar ka halwa or finely for a more pudding-like consistency.
- Sugar - Raw sugar can be substituted with white or brown sugar. For a vibrant orange colour, use raw or white sugar.
- Evaporated milk - This is available in cans in the baking or long-life milk section of the supermarket. It can be substituted with extra cream or condensed milk.
- Edible gold leaf - This is purely an option, but it adds a touch of elegance and opulence to the dessert. Edible gold or silver leaf is known as "varak" and is available at specialty baking stores or baking sections of supermarkets.
Thank you Sneh. In the interim I have been researching various recipes. Like you, I like to experiment. Here's one from my MICROWAVE BOOK which works. Based on 650/600 wattage.
1 cup whipping cream
4 large carrots, shredded
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbs. slivered almonds/pistas
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1. Microwave at HIGH, 15 minutes carrots, sugar, and whipping cream. Cover with a lid. Stir once in between
2. Remove lid, microwave at MED. HIGH for 20 minutes or until firm.
3. Stir in almonds and pistas or edible silver leaves.
Serve cold or warm it up at HIGH for 30 seconds.
Yields 12 to 15 servings.
Note: No butter in this recipe. Gets greasy from the cream.
Quick Tip: Add 1/2 cup mawa or 1/2 cup milk powderin step 2.
Recipe says serves 3 people. Appears there may be an error in the recipe. 1 kg. (2.2 lbs.) I tried it this morning and wasn't successful. The carrots were too much for the sugar, cream, etc. It took close to 45 minutes. The result did not look like your carrot halwa. Did you mean 1 cup of grated carrots? Please clarify.
Lydia, I am pretty sure it is 1kg. I made this a long time ago so don't remember clearly. But I just weighed a kilogram of carrots on the weighing scale and there were 5 large carrots in there. That would amount to about 2 packed cups of grated carrot. Different power levels in different microwaves could alter cooking times, but 20 minutes sounds about right. We are looking for a glazed, still very slightly crunchy carrot bits in this recipe [which is a healthier option to the cream and sugar laden slow cooked one which I absolutely love :)]. I have used less cream and it makes the dessert dry, hence the ice-cream accompaniment. I will try this again tonight and post about it in length this week with recipe adjustments.
Thanks for the informative post. My wife's calling me for dinner So I need to run off without reading as much as I'd like. But I set your weblog on my RSS feed to ensure that I can study more.
Hi, what is milk masala? tx sarah