Exploring the healthy recipe of everyone’s absolute favourite.

Gajar ka Halwa has always been the golden highlight of winters, no matter if you love the cold weather or not, you can never hate winters when they come carrying steaming hot bowl of Gajar ka Halwa. This delight of a dessert is also known to be a mystery dish for people outside the country. 

Halwa is a term for sweets cooked with milk, sugar, ghee, and nuts. The name depends on the main ingredient, like if a bottle gourd is cooked with the given ingredients then it is lauki halwa (bottle gourd pudding). There is a vast variety of these present all over the country. Right from childhood, every Indian loves Halwa. 

Carrot halwa is cooked in almost every North Indian kitchen in the winter season. But this sweet savoury bliss comes carrying more calories than an entire meal. One serving of Gajar ka Halwa gives 386 calories. Out of which carbohydrates comprise 167 calories!! 

Thus, people who work on weight management plans, often get sceptical about the consumption of desserts because it could add to an unnecessary amount of calories in the diet. Therefore, if you are worried about the calorie intake with gajar halwa, here is what you need to know about it. 

Carrots are a rich source of vitamin A, C and E that can offer health benefits to the body. The average amount of calories present in 150 g of gajar halwa are about 170 to 175 calories. The main ingredients used include carrots, sugar, cardamom, milk and ghee. You can burn calories in the following ways:

• 35 minutes of swimming.
• 20 minutes of running.
• 30 minutes of cycling.
• 60 minutes of walking.

Nutrition facts of gajar halwa

The estimated nutrition facts of 150 g of gajar halwa are as follows:

Tips to make gajar halwa healthier

Here are some tips you can follow to make alterations to the recipe and make your gajar halwa healthier:

• You can make use of skimmed milk instead of whole milk to cut back on the calorie due to fat content in milk.
• Add jaggery/honey and reduce the amount of sugar used in the preparation. Excess of sugar can add to the calorie count of the desert.
• Skip adding mawa/khoya to your halwa. This may help enhance the flavour of the dish but can also add to the calorie in the same.
• Avoid going too generous on the ghee. Do not add an unnecessary amount as it can make the dish unhealthy.

It is always a better option to prepare the halwa at home instead of buying it commercially. This is a way to ensure the absence of artificial and added sugars and preservatives.

Carrot Halwa With Jaggery Recipe

Ingredients

(10 Serving)

• 4 Cup tightly packed grated carrots
• 4 Cup milk (3 Cup if full-fat milk)
• 1 Cup jaggery
• 1 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
• Handful chopped nut like cashew, almond, pista
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method

1. First of all, clean, peel and rinse carrots. Grate them using a food processor or box grater.
2. Take a nonstick pan and heat on medium flame.
3. To this add ghee and grated carrots. Cook them for 3-4 minutes.
4. After 3-4 minutes add milk and cook on high flame. It takes around 12-14 minutes. Stir occasionally otherwise it will burn from the bottom.
5. After 12 minutes low the flame and add cardamom powder, nuts, jaggery powder. Mix well. It will again turn watery as the jaggery melts. Cook for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.
6. Keep stirring at this stage till halwa becomes dry. Switch off the flame as soon as you get the required dry consistency.
7. Carrot halwa with jaggery is ready to serve.

Note

1. Wash carrots carefully. Sometimes a lot of dirt gets stuck inside its skin and comes in its mouth while eating.
2. Keep stirring or else halwa will burn from the bottom of the pan.
3. Adjust jaggery as per your taste. In this quantity, I loved this much jaggery. You can add more if you like a sweeter version.
4. This gajar ka halwa recipe can be easily increased as per the requirement.
5. Halwa stays good for 3-4 days if kept in the fridge.
6. Carrot halwa with jaggery has a dark colour due to jaggery

We hope you enjoy this healthier and sweeter version of Gajar ka Halwa! Stay tuned for more such healthified recipes of your favourite dishes and share with us what you want to see next. Also share your favourite Gajar ka Halwa moments with us!