Carrot Halva Or Burfi 2 Made With Skimmed Milk Powder
Gajar ka Halwa aur Barfi-Low Fat
Mamta Gupta
This is a quick and low fat version of this very popular North Indian, seasonal, winter sweet dish. Carrots grow mainly in cold months in India and are very cheap then.
For diabetics, add Sugar-free sweetener at the end of cooking, after step 7.
Serves 6-8
Edited February 2019
Ingredients
1 kg. carrots, 800 gm. peeled weight
1/4-1/2 pint 125-250 ml. fresh skimmed or semi-skimmed milk
100 gm. skimmed milk powder.
100-150 gm. sugar (adjust to taste). Brown sugar or Shakkar (Indian raw sugar) tastes better. If diabetic, you can use sugar free powder
A few strands of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp. warm water (optional)
1 tbsp. ghee
1 heaped tsp. green cardamom powder
50 gm. chopped almonds + pistachio nuts (unsalted)
50 gm. raisins or dry blueberries or dry cranberries or dry cherries (optional)
Instructions
Wash, peel and grate carrots. A food processor is good for this purpose.
Place carrots and fresh milk in a heavy bottomed pan/non-stick pan, bring to boil, lower heat to medium and cook covered until tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. Carrots release their own water, so be careful not to add too much milk.
Add saffron, raisins and cardamom powder.
Cook on moderately high heat now, stirring frequently to stop it from sticking, until most of the surplus liquid evaporates.
Add Ghee, stir it in.
Add milk powder, stir it in.
Add sugar or sugar-free sweetener and stir it in. Adding sugar and heating releases some more liquid as sugar melts. Stir fry until all liquid evaporates and the whole mass comes off the wok surface without leaving any liquid behind.
Stir in 2/3rd of the chopped nuts (see notes).
Allow to cool. You can cool it in a tray, then cut into squares and serve it as 'Carrot Burfi'.
Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.
Pack in an airtight box and keep in the fridge.
It is best served warm. Re-heat the amount required just before serving. This can be done in a frying pan or in a microwave for 2-3 minutes. Time and power will depend on the amount heated and the power used. One portion will roughly require 20 seconds on full heat.
You can spread it out on tray or shallow dish, cool and cut into burfi squares.
Notes
To prepare nuts, soak a handful of almonds/pistachios in warm water. Or soak in water and heat in a microwave for 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool, peel and shred. I have a special nut grater for this, but you can slice them by hand or by any other method you prefer.
For diabetics, sugar free sweetener can be used instead of sugar.
Also see: Carrot Halwa, Raggi Halwa, Sweet Potato Halwa, Semolina Halwa, Potato Halwa, Ground Wheat or Lapsi Halwa
