Carrot Halwa
Gajar halwa is a wedding-season sweet, grated carrots cooked for an hour in whole milk and sugar and enriched with ghee. The trick this version borrows is the slow reduction: carrots are sweet to begin with, and cooking them down in unsweetened soy milk concentrates that sweetness until added sugar is beside the point. Dates and raisins push it the rest of the way. Cardamom, saffron, and toasted cashews finish it exactly as they always have.
Ingredients
- 2 lb Carrots, grated
- 2 cups Unsweetened soy milk
- 6 Medjool dates, pitted
- 3 tbsp Raisins
- 1/2 tsp Green cardamom, ground
- 3 tbsp Raw cashews, chopped
- 1 pinch Saffron
Method
- Blend the dates with a splash of the soy milk into a smooth paste. This is the sweetener, so make it before your hands are busy at the stove.
- Put the grated carrots and the rest of the soy milk in a wide pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the milk is almost fully absorbed and the carrots are soft and deep orange, about 30 minutes. This slow reduction concentrates the carrots' own sugar, which is why no sugar goes in.
- Crush the saffron between your fingers and stir it in with the date paste, raisins, and cardamom. Cook another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the halwa is thick, glossy, and pulls away from the pan in a mass.
- Toast the chopped cashews in a dry pan until golden, about 2 minutes.
- Fold most of the cashews into the halwa and scatter the rest on top. Traditional gajar halwa is fried in ghee and loaded with sugar; here the long cook and the dates do that work. Serve warm or cold. It is better the next day, once the flavors settle.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 170 calories, 5 g protein, 5 g fiber, 45 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
