Carrot Halwa (Microwaved)

Carrot halwa (sweet pudding with carrots) is a rich & delicious Indian dessert made with carrots and sugar. My mom makes a quicker yet yummier version of carrot halwa in microwave. She doesn't even add milk to carrot halwa (as opposed to so many other recipes that I have come across), yet comes out tasty & flavorful. The only time consuming process in making carrot halwa is grating the carrots - and incase you have a food processor (with fine grater) at home, this sweet delicacy can be prepared in minutes.

We had invited our friends for dinner last night and I wanted to make carrot halwa for dessert. I had this traditional style recipe (carrot halwa cooked on stove top) from one my friends but it is very time consuming (I decided to save this recipe for some other time). As I was rushing to finish the dinner, I decided to take the easier route (microwave version). So, I called up my mom and got the recipe from her. However, I added little milk just to enhance the taste.

Ingredients (serves 4) 

Medium sized long carrots - 5-6 nos (Peeled and finely grated)

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Sugar - 5 - 6 tbsp (adjust to your taste)

Cardamom pods - 5 nos

Milk - 1/6 cup (I used 2% milk)

Cashews - 8 - 10 nos (broken)

Method

Take grated carrots in a large, microwave safe bowl. Add ghee and mix it well. Microwave it for 5 mins. Take the bowl out and gently mix it again with a spoon. Microwave for 5 more mins. Carrots will now be cooked and shrunk to about 1/4th of the original quantity. 

Now, add sugar, mix it well and microwave it for another 1 min. Finally, add milk to the mix and microwave it for another min. Heat little ghee and roast cashews until brown. Meanwhile, open the cardamom pods and crush the seeds. Garnish carrot halwa with roasted cashews and crushed cardamom seeds.

Carrot halwa can be served hot or cold. I personally like it hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.