Wedding Anniversary Gajar ka Halwa

5 years of love, 5 years of disagreements.

5 years of understanding, 5 years of why-can’t-you-understand-me moments.

5 years in happiness and sadness. 5 years of ups and downs.

5 years of sharing work, 5 years of fighting over the TV remote.

5 years of buying new stuff, 5 years of we-really-need-to-get-rid-of-stuff.

5 years since we tied the knot. Sunday, the 16th was our 5th Wedding Anniversary. Somehow, being as different as chalk and cheese we’ve made it work. 

10 years ago, I saw him across the room and wanted to get to know him. I did get to know him a few months later. We became friends, very good friends. Friends who fell in love eventually.

Raj is probably the nicest guy around. A man who hurts not even a mosquito (literally!!), much to my annoyance. A man with immense patience - he can entertain toddlers for hours and teach technology to senior citizens. But totally loses it when someone cuts in front of his car breaking traffic rules. A man who sings well but has two left feet when it comes to dancing (he may as well be fighting Kung Fu with me). Totally low maintenance guy, whom I love very much, no matter how much he annoys me at times.

Today morning as I was waiting for the bus, I was trying to think of the things we have in common and while we are more different than similar, we do have quite a lot of stuff in common…

• Travel – We both love to travel, we’ve always loved to see new places and take long drives. We loved the snowcapped peaks of Manali just as much as the pristine waters of Phuket. We were equally mesmerized by the Taj Mahal as we were by the Sigiriya Rock in Sri Lanka.
• Desserts – Both of us have a massive sweet tooth and are always trying to curb it. But yes, desserts are our weakness, no matter how much we try.
• Movies – We may have different tastes in movies, I love rom coms and he love his action movies (typical Man.. Duh!), but give us an Animated Movie and we are willing to tolerate the headache we both get from the 3D glasses.
• Jamie Oliver and Top Gear – He’s all about cars and I’m all food, but for a change we both love watching Jamie Oliver cook things we would probably never eat and watch them test drive cars on Top Gear that we will never buy.
• Tea – Tea is what led to this marriage according to me. We bonded over cups and cups of tea and still cannot get enough of.

This Gajar ka Halway is a dedication to our 5 years of Marriage. 5 years ago, just before we got married, Raj told me he makes the most amazing Gajar ka Halwa and will one day make it for me. I’m still waiting for him to make it… I probably will be waiting for the next 5.  So instead of denying myself of the sinful pleasure, I made it myself. 

Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa is a traditional North Indian carrot pudding that is made by slow cooking grated carrots along with milk, sugar, ghee and dry fruits. It is a sweet rich dessert, fit for special occasions, like our Wedding Anniversary.

You can either grate the carrots or use a food processor to shred them. Use juicy carrots, avoid fibrous ones. The grated carrots are first lightly roasted in ghee. Then they are slow cooked in milk on low heat. Traditional recipe uses full fat milk. I used regular toned milk. Once the milk has almost evaporated, add the sugar. The sugar will melt and you will again find liquid in your halwa. I love some desserts very sweet. Adding the 1 cup of sugar will make the halwa very sweet. I suggest adding half a cup and letting it evaporate, before adding more if you prefer your desserts to be less sweet. Once all the sugar has evaporated, add the cardamom powder. I also love adding a lot of dry fruits to my desserts. I added almonds, cashew nuts and raisins after lightly frying them in ghee. 

Although I love cold Gajar ka Halwa, it tastes best when served warm. It also is great when paired with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Chana Dal Payasam | Kadle Bele Payasa - Kheer made with lentils, coconut milk and jaggery. 
• Kaju Katli | Cashew Barfi-  Fudge made from cashew nuts. Very popular Indian sweet.
• Kashi Halwa - Halwa made from ash gourd or petha.

P.S - You know my biggest accomplishment? After 5 years, I finally got him to smile when the camera is pointed at him.

Gajar ka Halwa | Carrot Halwa

Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa is a slow cooked North Indian carrot pudding made with grated carrots, milk, sugar, ghee and dry fruits.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     1 Hour 45 Minutes
Yield:                Serves 5 to 6

Ingredients:

3 cups grated Carrots (300 gms)
2 cups Milk
0.75 to 1 cup Sugar
0.5 tsp Cardamom Powder
3 Tbsp Ghee
8 to 10 Almonds
8 to 10 Cashew nuts
8 to 10 Raisins

Method:

Heat 2 Tbsp ghee in a kadhai and add the grated carrot.
On low heat, fry the carrots for 4-5 mins, stirring continuously.
Add the milk and continue to simmer on low heat until all the milk has evaporated. Stir occasionally.
This will take around 30-45 minutes. By the time the milk has evaporated, the carrots would have almost cooked.
Now add the sugar and continue to cook on low heat. The sugar will melt and the halwa will again have liquid in it. Continue to stir occasionally.
Once all the liquid has evaporated, add the cardamom powder and mix well.
Remove from heat.
Heat the remaining ghee in a small pan.
Add sliced almonds, split cashew nuts and raisins and saute until the nuts brown slightly.
Add the nuts to the Gajar ka Halwa and mix well.
Serve warm.