Did you know the purple carrots or kale gajar have been around for much longer than its more popular red and orange avatar? For those of you interested in the history of food do check out this interesting factoid. In India the purple carrots are found predominantly during winter in UP, Haryana and Punjab. The other interesting aspect of the purple carrot is its high nutritional value. This version of the carrot is rich in antioxidants and beta carotene. Honestly, I had never seen these carrots till about a fortnight back. It was only when I saw a photo of the kale Gajar ka halwa which got me digging into it’s ingredients and recipe. As luck would have it, I chanced on these purple carrots while I was doing my vegetable shopping. Naturally, this got me all excited and I quickly picked up a few and got going with the halwa. The preparation is similar to the normal Gajar ka halwa, except that you will need to cook it for a few minutes longer for this variety of Gajar to soften. This is the precise time to prepare this healthy and tasty dessert for the family. So go right ahead. Happy Fooding Around.
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Super Carrots
Ingredients
- 750 gms Purple Carrot or Kale Gajar
- 2 cups Full Cream Milk
- 1 cup Sugar (You may use maximum of 2 cups sugar according to taste and preference)
- ¼ cup Ghee
- ½ cup Khoya, crumbled
- 1 Tsp Green Cardamom powder
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- 1 pinch salt
- Almond slivers, chopped Pistachios and Cashews to garnish
Instructions
- Wash, pat dry then peel and grate the kale gajar or purple carrots.
- In a deep bottom pan heat the ghee. Add the grated carrots and mix well over medium flame. Saute for 2-3 mins.
- Add the milk and combine thoroughly with the carrot. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally till the carrots are cooked and have softened. This should take around 10 mins or so. By now the carrots should have shrunk in volume.
- Now add the sugar and cook till the sugar melts. The sugar will dissolve releasing some water. Stir occasionally and cook till the released water gets absorbed.
- Next add the crumbled khoya/mawa and cook for 3 – 4 mins or till the mixture is dry.
- Before taking off add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of honey. Stir and sprinkle the green cardamom powder. Mix well.
- Add the chopped/sliced cashew nuts, almonds and pistachios. Stir continuously for a minute to combine well.
- Transfer to a bowl and serve hot.
Notes
You may replace the Kale Gajar (purple carrots) with the regular red ones as they are more easily available. The rest of the recipe and the proportions remains the same. The cooking time will go down by a good 4 or 5 minutes as the red carrots cook lots faster.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
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