Gajar Halwa (Carrot Halwa)

Directions

• Wash the carrots and trim their edges. Scrape the skin lightly and grate all the carrots using a grater and keep aside. I used my food chopper.
• Soak the almonds in some warm water for 15 – 20 mins. Peel the skin off and chop them into slivers and keep aside.
• Chop the cashew nuts into small pieces and keep aside.
• Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add 3 tbsp of ghee. When it becomes warm, add the chopped cashew nuts and roast over low flame till golden brown. Drain them completely, transfer to a plate and keep aside.
• Now to the same pan, add the grated carrots. Simmer the flame completely and sauté for 15-20 mins. The color of the carrots would have completely changed and it would have gotten cooked completely. But the most important thing is the raw smell of the carrots would be completely gone by now.
• Now add the milk to the cooked carrots and increase the flame to medium. Let the carrots cook in the milk till the entire mixture almost becomes dry. Keep mixing in between to avoid the carrots sticking to the bottom of the pan. This should take 15-20 mins.
• Now add the sugar and mix well. Once you add the sugar, the entire mixture would once again become liquefied or of loose consistency.
• Once again keep cooking till the entire mixture becomes thick. The sugar would begin to caramelize the carrot and milk mixture and the you can see that the consistency becoming sticky. This should take 15 mins.
• When the halwa becomes dry, add the remaining 3 tbsp ghee, cardamom powder, roasted cashew nuts and mix well. Cook for 5 more mins while mixing continuously and the halwa will come together in a mass. Switch off flame and take off stove.
• Serve hot or warm in individual bowls sprinkled liberally with almond slivers.