Making the best of carrot halwa

Food fix

Carrot Halwa

Ingredients: 4 cups carrot gratings, 1 cup milk, ½ cup sugar, 4 crushed peda, a handful of cashew bits/raisins, 1/8 tsp cardamom powder, 2 tbsp ghee

Method: Cook the gratings in milk till soft and dry. Add sugar and crushed peda and raisins, and cook till well-blended. Add 1 tbsp of ghee and mix well, and remove.
Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee. Fry the cashew bits till light brown and pour over the mix. Add cardamom powder. Mix well. It is ready to serve. 

Carrot Samosa

Ingredients: For the casing: 2 cups fine sooji/rava, 2 tbsp maida, a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp fat

For the filling:  (Carrot halwa): 2 cups Oil for deep frying

Method: Mix sooji, maida, and salt. Heat oil and pour over the mix. Mix well, add sufficient water to make a stiff dough, and leave for 2/3 hours. To make samosas, roll out 1/8 inch thick and 5-inch diameter puris. Cut into 2, and smear a little oil around the edges. Keep 2 tbsp of filling in center, and overlap the 2 sides, so as to get a triangle. Press the edges gently, but firmly. Deep fry in hot oil till light brown and drain on a paper, and serve.

Carrot Discs/Obbatt

Ingredients: For the casing and filling: Same as for carrot samosas
Method: Roll out 1/8-inch thick and  5-inch diameter roundels. Keep 2 tbsp of filling in center and fold all around to encase the filling. Roll out into ¼-inch thick roundels. Heat a tawa/griddle. Cook on both sides till brown and crisp. Remove and then cool it. You may serve immediately or even store it.

Note: For a variation, this filling can be used to make holiges too. Powder cashews and chop the raisins and use as filling.

Carrot Sandwich

Ingredients: 8 bread slices, 4 tbsp carrot halwa, 4 tsp butter (optional)
Method: Place 1 tbsp of halwa in between 2 slices. Apply butter on both sides of the 2 slices, and prepare sandwiches as usual or use as a simple filler.

Carrot Icecream

Ingredients: 2 cups carrot halwa, 4 scoops vanilla or kesar-badam ice-cream, 4 icecream cones (optional)

Method: Place half cup of halwa in a serving bowl. Top it with a scoop of ice cream and serve at once. It can also be served in icecream cones, at kids’ parties.

Tips:

* Always select bright orange coloured carrots as they are rich in carotene.

* This halwa can be made as a preserve and stored without adding peda and ghee.

* 1 tbsp of halwa with a glass of milk, can be blended to make carrot milk shake.

* Half a cup of this preserve can be blended with 2 glasses of milk, and boiled to make instant carrot kheer.