Gajrela, Gajar Ka Halwa; caramelised carrots & creamy milk

Introduction

Gajrela also known as Carrot Halwa or Gajar Ka Halwa, is a traditional Pakistani and Indian dessert. It really is the South Asian dessert version of the English carrot cake. It’s normally served warm, but you can also serve it cold. I can not help but feel that this is healthy dessert due to the inclusion of carrots, however as in keeping with most Pakistani desserts, there is a fair amount of sugar and cream! So I don’t think I can label this dessert as healthy, but it is oh so very good!

My take on Gajrela

I have to be honest and admit that I absolutely hated this traditional Indian carrot dessert as a child. It was always such a disappointment when we would attend a dinner or a wedding and I would see that flash of orange in the serving dish. Sometimes I would hear the term gajar ka halwa instead of the dreaded gajrela. I would have hope that maybe it was a different dessert. However, I soon realised that they were the same dessert, despite the different names. As soon as I saw that flash of orange, I knew that I did not want to eat it, despite my major sweet tooth.

My mother in laws Gajar Ka Halwa Recipe

It wasn’t until many moons later, after I got married that I tried this festive South Asian dessert again. My mother in law made it for dessert one day, and mainly out of politeness being a newly wed, I forced myself to have a spoon or two of her gajrela. Just so I could say I have tried it.

Oh guys, I fell in love! I was shocked at how lovely this dessert was, and that I had missed out eating it all these years. What was wrong with me? Why had I never liked it?? These were some of the many question whizzing around in my mind. I obviously had seconds and a proper portion of seconds! I now love eating this dessert and even order it in restaurants, where it is often served with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

Despite now enjoying this dessert, I never made it until a very recent visit from my mother in law. I pinned her down and got the recipe out of her. Some of you will know that it’s not easy to get an exact recipe from the elders in the family. It’s all “a bit of this” and “a bit of that”. Sometimes I wonder how they got recipes from their own mother’s?! Any way, that’s a question for another time. I managed to get enough details from my mother in law to put this recipe together.

The difference of this version of gajrela to what I remember eating as a child is that this is much creamier and richer. And I have to say, it tasted pretty darn good! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

Tips on how to make and eat this Creamy Gajrela

The additional of nuts as garnish is optional, however it does really elevate the dessert and add a lovely crunchy texture in amongst the soft carrot mixture. I tend to stick to almond for this gajar ka halwa recipe, whereas for my sooji ka halwa I like to add in some pistachios, it’s really down to personal choice. Again the addition of raisins can be incorporated into the dessert. I would add them at step 3 with the butter if you like raisins in your desserts. Personally I prefer this carrot halwa just with nuts, I’m not a fan of raisins in Pakistani desserts generally.

I use a food processor to grate the carrots, it saves time and my arm aching! Make sure you use whole milk when making this dish, don’t be tempted to use semi or skimmed milk, it needs the whole milk to give that richness to the flavour of the dessert. You could substitute the cream for condensed milk if you want a more luxurious taste. Do not any sugar if using condensed milk, one tin of the condensed milk should be more than enough sweetness to your dessert.

It’s important to get the sweetness right, too much sugar and this dessert quickly becomes sickly. I would start with 3.5 tablespoons of sugar, once you have added the butter you can taste to see if you are happy with the level of sweetness and always add in a bit more at this point. I also use caster sugar in my recipe.

For me gajar ka halwa has to be served warm and ideally with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. I’ve always enjoyed the contrast of warm and cold in desserts. Definitely get a cup of doodh patti or karak chai ready for this easy carrot halwa and sit down and enjoy to the fullest.

See my video on Youtube, Instagram or TikTok to see how to make this dish!

Ingredients

Serves 8

Preparation: 2 minutes

Cook time 1 hour and 28 minutes

• 6 medium carrots, 500 grams , trimmed, skin removed then grated
• 2 pints of whole milk
• 2 cardamon pods , shells cracked
• 3.5 tbsp of sugar (to taste)
• 300ml double cream
• 1/2 pack of unsalted butter, 125 grams
• 1 tbsp of pistachios, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 tbsp of almonds, blanched or flaked (optional)

Method

1. In a medium saucepan, add all the milk, cardamon pods and grated carrots. Put on the hob with a high heat. Then put on the pan lid and bring the mixture to boil.

2. Once the milk is boiling, remove the pan lid and simmer on a low heat until the milk has nearly dried out. You will need to keep stirring at regular intervals. The carrots will thicken and soften during this cooking time. It should take around an hour.

3. Next add in the sugar and double cream. Again let this simmer on low heat until the mixture is nearly dried out. You need to keep a close eye on the pan at this stage and keep stirring very regular. The cream can burn very quickly. This simmering stage with the cream should take around 10-15 minutes.

4. Then add the butter and stir through thoroughly, making sure all the butter has melted and is fully incorporated into the mixture. Once you see that the butter is separating from the gajar ka halwa and the halwa is starting to stick together in a lump, this dessert is ready.

5. Finally, add the gajrela to your serving dish, sprinkle with the nuts and serve. The nuts are optional, but they do really elevate this dessert to another level.

6. You can serve this dessert warm or cold. If serving warm, adding a scoop of vanilla ice-cream is a real treat!