Carrot and Pumpkin Halwa (Gajar ka Halwa)

Best known for it’s Indian name, Gajar ka Halwa, I’ve created a spin-off dessert Carrot and Pumpkin Halwa to enjoy over this festive period. Halloween or Diwali, eat your heart out!

This rich, sticky, sweet pudding is delightful and perfect to get stuck into on a cold winters day. It’s known to have originated in Punjab and eaten in India over the winter months. Popular worldwide and in the UK too, I’ve always eaten this dessert at weddings and during festivities.

To get started, you only need a few ingredients; ghee/butter, carrots (gajar), pumpkin, milk, sugar and cardamom. For equipment, I’ve used a hard bottom pan and stirred regularly to avoid the mixture from sticking.

Seen as this was my first attempt in making an Indian dessert, I’m rather impressed with the outcome. It’s really easy to put together and quite an impressive end to a 3 course meal, if you’re planning one 😉

If you’re interested in more pumpkin recipes, you could try my Spiced Pumpkin Cake, it’s spin-off version of a carrot cake, but additionally using pumpkin.

Carrot and Pumpkin Halwa (Gajar ka Halwa)

Spicella Recipes

A rich, sweet and sticky pudding often eaten at festivities. Made with grated pumpkin and carrots in a sugary, milky syrup. It's simply delightful.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Equipment

• Hard bottom saucepan

Ingredients

  

• 3 tbsp Ghee or Unsalted butter
• 150 g Carrots (grated)
• 100 g Pumpkin (grated)
• 100 ml Milk (full fat)
• ⅓ tsp Ground cardamom
• 50 g Caster sugar
• 1 pinch Pistachios (ground)

Instructions

 

• Peel and grate both the pumpkin and carrots.
• Add ghee or unsalted butter to the pan. Once hot, add the grated carrots and pumpkin. Let the mixture cook on a medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid the mixture from sticking.
• Pour in milk and add ground cardamom and give this a stir.
• Lastly, add the sugar. Turn heat up slightly and stir regularly. Allow the mixture to thicken and caramalise.
• Continue stirring for approximately 10 minutes until the oil separates and comes away from the pan. The mixture should've thicken now to a slightly sticky consistency.
• Whilst hot, pour the mixture into a dessert dish to set. Garnish the halwa with a pinch of ground pistachios for some added texture.

Keyword Gajar Halwa, Halwa, Pumpkin Desserts, Pumpkin Pudding, Sticky Carrot pudding

Tips on making Carrot and Pumpkin Halwa (Gajar ka Halwa)

• When cooking the halwa, reduce the liquid down as much as possible so that the it appears gloopy and sticky. This is so that the halwa solidifies well, when cooling down.
• If you prefer to stick to the traditional version, replace the amount of pumpkin with carrot.