Halva recipe (carrot and cardamom pudding)
- 240 g (8.5oz) ghee (or clarified butter)
- 10 medium carrots (approximately 1.15kg), finely grated
- 500 ml (17.6fl oz) whole milk
- 300 g (10.6oz) granulated sugar
- 60 g (2.1oz) dried milk powder
- 1.75 tsp teaspoon cardamom seeds, coarsely ground or crushed
- 30 g (1.1oz) pistachios, roughly chopped, to finish (optional)
- Melt the ghee in large thick-based pan over a high heat, then stir in the carrots.
- Fry for a minute on high, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring all the while.
- Increase the heat to high again and fry for another 4-5 minutes, until the majority of the liquid from the carrots has evaporated.
- Constant stirring and varying the temperature during frying both help to speed up the process of cooking off the carrot juice.
- While the carrots are frying, bring the milk to the boil in a small pan.
- Once the liquid from the carrots has evaporated, pour in the boiling milk and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Stir in the sugar and cook for a further 5-6 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure the mixture doesn't stick or burn.
- Add the milk powder and cardamom and keep stirring and cooking for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Leave to rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavours to intensify, then gently reheat before serving.
- The temperature at which you serve the halva is a matter of taste - some like it piping hot, while I prefer it slightly warm and accompanied by a scoop or two of good soft vanilla ice cream.
- You can serve gajar halva in a large bowl, garnished with chopped pistachios if you fancy them (the colour contrast between the green nuts and orange halva is lovely).
- Alternatively you can form it into little domes as I do, pressing a sixth of the mixture at a time into a small bowl or teacup to mould it into shape, then tipping on to individual serving plates.
- Sprinkle the tops with chopped pistachios - or, for a real flourish, a twist or two of gold leaf!
ghee, carrots, sugar, milk powder, cardamom seeds, pistachios
Taken from www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/17256/halva-recipe-carrot-and-cardamom-pudding (may not work)