¼cupmixed nuts for garnishing; almond, pistachio, cashew
Instructions
Melt ghee in a thick bottomed wok and add cardamom powder.
Then add grated carrot. Cover and cook for 7 minutes on medium high heat till carrots are soft.
Remove lid, cook for 15-20 minutes to burn excess water, stirring in between.
Now, add sugar and milk. The sugar will melt and get watery. Dry all water by cooking for 10 minutes. Keep stirring.
Then add half khoya and cook further for 7-10 minutes. When you see ghee separates profusely from sides of pan. Add dry fruits, nuts and remaining khoya.
Cover lid and let it simmer on low flame for 5 minutes. Gajar halwa is ready.
Video
Notes
Carrots: The most important tip for making the best gajar ka halwa is to use red (not orange) and juicy.
Sugar: Carrots vary from region to region so adjust sugar if required.
Khoya: is simply solid crumbled milk made by evaporating milk until almost solid. You can find the recipe of khoya on Spice up the curry blog. I used store-bought khoya, also spelled as khoa and khova. You can easily get it from any Indian/ Pakistani Sweetshop.) Instead of khoya, you can use 3 cup milk powder.
Ghee: You can reduce ghee up to ½ cup. I have made gajar halwa with vegetable oil too. Taste differs a lot but you can use it. You can also use unsalted butter instead of ghee.