Lahori Gajar Halwa
Winter carrot halwa: red carrots cooked low and slow in full-fat milk with sugar, ghee and cardamom until thick and dark orange. Topped with toasted nuts and a flake of silver leaf. The Punjabi winter dessert.
Overview
Red winter carrots are grated coarsely on a box grater. The grated carrot is simmered with full-fat milk over medium heat, stirred frequently as the milk reduces and the carrots take on its colour and fat. After about 45 minutes the milk has cooked down to a thick paste with the carrots; sugar is added (which releases more water briefly), then ghee, cardamom and the dish is fried-dried over higher heat for the final 15 minutes until thick, dark and oily-glossy. Khoya (reduced milk solids) is the traditional finish; condensed milk is the modern shortcut.
Ingredients
- 1 kg red carrots (winter carrots, preferably; orange standard carrots work but give a slightly different colour)
- 1.2 litres full-fat milk
- 200 g caster sugar (adjust to taste; reduce if using condensed milk)
- 4 tablespoons ghee
- 100 g khoya (reduced milk solids, mashed) (or 4 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk + reduce sugar to 150 g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (or seeds from 6 pods, crushed)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- A pinch of salt
To finish
- 30 g flaked almonds (lightly toasted)
- 30 g pistachios (slivered)
- 30 g cashews (chopped, lightly toasted in ghee)
- 2-3 sheets of silver leaf (vark; optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Grate the carrot
- Peel the carrots and grate coarsely on a box grater (not too fine; the texture should be visible in the final dish).
Stage 2 - Cook with the milk
- Tip the grated carrot into a wide, heavy-bottomed pan (the wider the pan, the faster the milk reduces).
- Pour over the milk and a pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring once or twice.
- Reduce to medium heat and cook uncovered for 40-50 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the milk has reduced almost entirely and the carrots have soaked up the milk fat (the mixture should be thick and the colour deepened from orange to a richer red-orange).
Stage 3 - Add the sugar
- Stir in the sugar.
- Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat (the sugar will draw water out of the carrots; you'll see the mixture loosen briefly).
- Continue stirring until the loose water cooks off, 5-7 more minutes.
Stage 4 - Add the ghee and khoya
- Stir in 2 tablespoons of the ghee.
- Cook for 5 minutes, stirring; the ghee will absorb into the carrots.
- Add the khoya (or condensed milk) and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee.
Stage 5 - Finish
- Sprinkle in the cardamom and nutmeg.
- Cook for 5-8 more minutes over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until the halwa pulls away from the sides of the pan and ghee starts to puddle at the edges.
- Stir in half the toasted almonds, pistachios and cashews.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Scatter the remaining toasted nuts on top.
- Lay the silver leaf gently over (if using).
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Red carrots if you can find them: Winter red carrots give the halwa its iconic deep colour. Orange carrots give a paler dish but the same flavour.
- Wide pan: Reducing 1.2 litres of milk in a narrow pan takes hours. A wide pan halves the time.
- Khoya or condensed milk: Khoya is the traditional thickener; sweetened condensed milk is the modern shortcut. Both work; just reduce the sugar if using condensed milk.
Storage
- Refrigerate up to 5 days; reheat with a splash of milk and a knob of ghee.
- Freezes well for 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
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