Gajrela (Carrot Halwa)
Winters in Baramulla were beautiful, but brutal. In the 1980's, the modern day conveniences of central heating, running warm water in the taps and food delivery to doorstep were still science fiction. However, us kids had little to worry about - the Bukhari in our room and Kangdi in our Phiran's, kept us warm, and stories told and retold by Papa kept us entertained. Winter's other saving grace was Gajrela, most famously known as Gajar Halwa in Northern India.
Like a number of my parent's recipes, Gajrela is a labor of love, involving manually grating pounds of carrots and spending hours cooking them with milk, sugar and ghee. As the aroma of halwa filled our home, we no longer felt the need to complain about the bitter cold.
Today, when the tree outside my window starts to look barren, a part of me starts to look forward to the promise of winter - spending holidays with kids, cuddling under warm fuzzy blankets, telling and retelling them stories and filling their memories with the aroma of Gajrela,
The Real Gajar Halwa -A rustic preparation of the famous warm and delectable Indian dessert!
- 5 lb Carrots
- 3/4th gal Whole Milk (Or enough to cover the carrots)
- 1.5 cup Sugar
- 4-5 tbsp Ghee
- 1/4 cup Almonds (Soaked overnight, peeled and slivered)
- 1/4 cup Golden Raisins (Soaked for 30 minutes)
- 1 cup Mava or Khoya (Grated)
Wash, peel and grate the carrots using a food processor with a grating attachment, or large holes of a box grater.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan (a dutch oven works great). Apply a thin coat of ghee on the surface.
Add the grated carrots and all of the milk. Bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to prevent milk from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the heat.
This process could take some time, so be patient. Keep a bar stool next to the gas range, and a book handy.Continue to cook the carrots in the milk, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are cooked and milk has reduced to solids. At the end of this process, you should see almost no milk liquid.
Again, this process will take its own time. For 5 pounds of carrots, this could take 5-6 hours.Add the sugar and mix well. The carrots will leave some water and the halwa will seem syrupy after sugar is added. Fry until all the liquid has evaporated.
Add mava/khoya, almonds and rasins and remove from heat. Serve hot with a garnish of chopped almonds and sprinkle of grated mava/khoya.
