Carrot Halwa / Gajar Halwa | Indian Sweets Recipes

Happy Holi Everyone! Holi is not the only celebration today. It is also my father's birthday. He is turning 60 today. I am happy to post this delicious carrot halwa on this occasion and wish him a very happy birthday!
I have made carrot halwa only a couple of times. Though it takes a long time to make this sweet, all the work done will be very fruitful when you see your family enjoy it.
Carrot halwa tastes great on its own. But a must-try serving suggestion from me.. Top the warm carrot halwa with a scoop or two of vanilla icecream...bliss..

Ingredients:
Measurements in standard cups;
Preparation time - 15 mins; Cooking time - 45 minutes
Carrots - 6 medium sized (4 cups grated)
Low fat Milk - 3-1/2 cups 
Sugar - 1 cup (or a little less)
Ghee - 3 tsp
Cashew nuts - 5
Slivered almonds - 1 tsp

Method:
Grate the carrots in the grater with the bigger teeth. Heat a wide non-stick pan with 1 tsp of ghee. Fry the cashews and almonds for a minute or two. Remove and set aside. Heat 2 tsp of ghee in the same pan and fry the carrots for 4-5 minutes. Add the milk, mix well and cook in medium-high heat. Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until all but a little milk remains. Mix once every 5 minutes to help the carrots cook and allow the milk to evaporate faster. When most of the milk is evaporated, add the sugar and mix well. Continue to cook until the sugar is completely melted and the halwa gets a glossy look, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the fried nuts. Mix well and serve. This also tastes good chilled.
Notes: I strongly recommend using a non-stick pan for this recipe. It makes the cleanup so much easier with almost no or minimum wastage. Also I need not have to baby-sit this halwa. Just set the timer every 5 minutes and do something else.
Use whole milk if you like a richer texture. I have used low-fat milk and it works fine for me.