January 22, 2017 at 7:24 pm

Ingredients

Fresh shredded carrot  – 2 cups

Milk  – 2 cups

3 to 4 tablespoons of fresh butter(unsalted)

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cardamom powder

Some roasted cashew nuts to garnish

Method

Boil milk on medium high heat in a pan until it is reduced to about 1 cup. Stir often so that the milk does not burn in the bottom of the pan. Set aside. Then stir fry the shredded carrot in butter for about seven to eight minutes. When it is tender and slightly changing color, add milk and cook until the milk dries.

Then add sugar and cardamom powder and stir fry for another three to four minutes until the halwa starts to leave the side of the frying pan. Garnish with cashew nuts and serve when it is warm. You can even refrigerate it and it does not get spoilt and the taste when eaten cold is completely different to when it is hot and served after it is ready.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Carrots are very good during any part of the year and contain vitamin A, C and B6, they also contain  sodium, potassium, carbohydrate iron,  which is required for our eyes,  it is  also loaded with fiber and antioxidants. While milk and butter provide the fat content and calcium, vitamin D required sugar also adds up to provide fat. So does cashew nut but it also add flavor to the sweet dish with cardamom which provides aroma.

It can be served as a sweet after meals or it can also be had separately. During winter when you get small red carrots which are short they are sweet and are ideal to prepare carrot halwa. It can be had either with puris or with chapatis and are very filling during winter and provide fat and warmth the body requires. Cook and serve and see the smiles on the face of the young ones who like sweets.

January 22, 2017 at 7:34 pm

I have had the fortune of having the dish served to me since childhood and thoroughly enjoyed the same each and every time it was prepared and served. I liked to eat it individually both served hot and when it was refrigerated. When puris or chapatis were cooked with carrot halwa I used to have them with only carrot halwa and I used to skip the other dish which was readily available. I share  sweet memories when it comes to this particular dish.

January 23, 2017 at 6:42 am

The nutritional value of Carrots is very satisfactory in Carrot Halwa. I tried it at home. Mother was preparing it nicely at home and we were quite happy with the dish. She was not only preparing Halwa but also Beetroot cakes also. In the similar fashion as described above, the Beetroot Halwa can also be prepared.

Carrot Halwa is popular in some parts of Andhra Pradesh only. In most of the other parts the procedure will be that they cook the Halwa in a semi-solid form which may not be that much taste.
They even add currants also to the dish. But, in our house, we do not add other dry fruits except the pieces of Almond, and Cashews. They all give not only taste but also provide the necessary vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, etc. needed for the body. This dish is an excellent one for the winter.

In North India, this dish is not prepared at all. People prepare GAJAR KA HALWA in stead of this. This also tastes nice but the nutritional value is not that rich as compared to the Carrot Halwa.

January 23, 2017 at 12:58 pm

Thanks for the feed back adding up to the information value in the article. Even I have had beetroot halwa too. One more variety which is described by you even that variety I have consumed. But it seems somewhat like payasam or kheer and some houses also steam them in the pressure cooker before preparing starting the process of preparing and they add milk and a bit of water before placing it in the cooker. But it gives a different taste. As in India as we travel each and every 70 to 100 kilometers we find changes in the cuisines and tastes, similarly the cooking style too undergoes change. No wonder we have so many varieties of cuisines to savor from. As they say variety is the spice of life that is what India offers.