Ever wondered how much beneficial Gajar ka Halwa can be for your health?
Gajar ka halwa or carrot halwa the most delicious cuisine of Indians during the winter season. The dish is immensely popular and served during weddings and festivals. The north Indian pudding is made with fresh red carrots, milk, sugar, jaggery, ghee, and several fruit nuts.
Gajar ka Halwa Benefits:
- The carrots are the main ingredients in making Gajar ka Halwa. The carrots have beta-carotene and vitamin A which are good for improving your eyesight. It decreases the chances of cataracts and other eye problems. Carrot also contains vitamin C which helps to get rid of toxins and is regarded as a waste eliminator from your body. It also helps in lowering blood pressure and diabetic diseases.
- Ghee is the second most important ingredient is ghee which imparts an aromatic smell. Ghee helps to warm our body from within and helps to moisturize our body. Ghee helps in digestion, strengthens our immune system, and serves a great function for our body and mind. Ghee has anti-inflammatory properties and helps to cure burns and wounds.
- Gajar ka Halwa contains milk which has tons of benefits for our body. Milk contains calcium and vitamins phosphorus, B vitamins, potassium, and vitamin D which help us a lot in the development of bones and muscles. Due to certain nutrients, it is considered as immune-boosting food. It contains a good quantity of proteins and is packed with various nutrients. Drinking milk and dairy products may prevent bone diseases like osteoporosis and bone fractures and even help you to maintain a healthy weight. The research shows that having enough milk, yoghurt, and cheese every day, as part of a healthy diet.
- The dish is known to awaken your taste buds. The best curing in winters. The dish is prepared with raw milk and hence it has low calories and it would not disturb your dieting routine.
The dry fruits which are added to garnish the food add flavours to it with lots of benefits.
- Walnuts contain a lot of vital Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Pistachios prevent diabetes and boost immunity.
- Dates are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and natural sugar.
- Apricots are a very rich source of vitamin E, which protects the body cells from harmful damage caused by free radicals.
- Cashews are loaded with vitamins E and B6.
- Almonds contain a lot of healthy fats, protein, fibre, magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin E. The benefits of almonds include lower blood sugar levels, reduced heart diseases, reduced blood pressure, and lower cholesterol levels. They can promote weight loss and reduce hunger.
The delicious and yummy dish is very easy to prepare and worth making during the winter seasons. First, the fresh reddish carrots are grated. The grated carrots are then fried in ghee and then it turns soft and shiny. The sugar powder or jaggery is then added to carrots along with milk or khoya and let the milk evaporate completely. Then the Gajar ka Halwas is served by garnishing it with dry fruits like cashews, almonds, Apricots, dates, walnuts, and pistachios. Thus the classic sweet Indian cuisine is ready to taste and praise.
Always use less fibrous, fresh, tender, and young carrots. Use full fat or whole milk to yield a mouth-melting carrot halwa. You should stir the halwa constantly so that it does not get burned or scorched. The Gajar ka Halwa can be served hot or even cold, it can be served with a large amount of ghee or less ghee, any way any method it is just everyone’s favourite.
The gajar ka halwa was first introduced during the period of Mughal emperors. The name originates from the Arab language where halva which means “sweet” and is made from carrot so that it is known as gajar ka halwa, carrot halwa (meaning pudding of carrot or Halwa of carrot). It is strongly associated with Punjab north India but has no clear existence to its origin in Punjab.
It is very similar to the other types of Punjabi halwa, like besan ka halwa, suji ka halwa. Gajar ka halwa contained carrots, milk, and ghee but nowadays includes many other ingredients like maca , khoya, r condensed low-fat milk. This age-old traditional savoury recipe remained in Punjabi cookbooks for many years.
Being a combination of milk and reddish carrots it is known as milk flavoured gajar ka halwa. In the other case, prepared in Pakistani style, the combination of cream or mava and carrot is described as mava flavoured gajar ka halwa.
