Carrot Pudding - Gajjar ka halwa

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food". - George Bernard Shaw

Few pleasures in life can match the joy of preparing a dish for your loved ones and then watching their faces light up with ......well, honestly.......hunger! I know it sounds pompous, but love it when a dish is well received , love the little shrieks and squeaks and the ahhaa and the ummm.. My close pals  know it by now  n they make the perfect sounds , if they forget, well, I simply remind them. A woman must do what is essentially good for her self esteem ;-)

A dish is not just a mix of ingredients cooked together, its much more complex than that. The love, the warmth, the underlying emotions all add up to turn the ingredients into an expression of love. We all have these amazing food memories that we nostalgically remember, but if you sit down to think, they actually are special coz  they take you back not only to a great meal but also to those times of togetherness . 

I keep going back to my mom for her recipes, trying to recreate my favorite food moments. Just want my son growing up with the same feeling of  being valued, loved and cared for. Its a typical Punjabi trait  to show your love through food, but, then, cant really help it! (smiles ..smiles...smiles)

Nothing screams winters more to me than a bowl of hot gajar ka halwa, with a generous sprinkle of nuts and seeds. This is my mom's recipe and trust me its one of the best gajjar ka halwa I've ever had . Its got this beautiful red color, which is so inviting, that I actually hear it call out my name, each time I open the refrigerator . If sweet's your poison, here is the recipe. 

Gajjar ka halwa

Carrots                1 kg 

Sugar                  180- 200 gms (Adjust the sweetness depending on the sweetness of the carrots)

Khoya                 250 gms (If unavailable substitute with Condensed Milk - In this case omit sugar)

Seeds n nuts        100-120 gms

Cream (optional) 1-2 Tbsp

1.  Wash, scape and grate the carrots.

2. Dry roast the nuts and seeds and keep them aside. (I added a mix of sesame seeds, flax-seeds, musk melon seeds, watermelon seeds, poppy seeds, almonds, cashews and walnuts. Or any other nuts/seeds you fancy).

3.  In a heavy bottom pan/ kadhai put the grated carrots and turn the flame on medium high. (there is no     need to put any oil/ghee) 

4. Fry it on medium high flame for 3-5 mins.

5. Add sugar to the carrots. (I added 200 gms of sugar) Once the sugar is added, the carrots give off a lot of moisture.

6. Also add the cream at this point. 

7. Bhunno / Fry the carrot sugar mix till its completly dry and has acquired a nice beautiful orangish red colour. This should take around 10-15 mins

8. Add in the crumbled khoya and continue cooking on medium - high flame till the khoya melts.

9. Tip the dry roasted nuts & seeds in the pan and fry the halwa (yes, its a halwa by this stage!) for the last 5-7 mins.

10. Garnish with sliced almonds. Serve hot.....