Here’s a healthy Carrot Halwa recipe made without ghee and sugar, yet satisfying and delicious. I have used dates to sweeten the recipe and nuts to provide healthy fats and crunch.
Health Upgrades
1) Raw carrots instead of cooked carrots
If you are thinking ‘Whoa!!, slow down there Swetha, I did not sign up for raw carrots”, I understand. But, hear me out. If there is any vegetable that makes the whole cooked – raw transition super easy, it is carrots. Carrots have a natural sweetness that makes it easy to forget you are eating a raw vegetable.
The reason the raw version is healthier is that the water content is retained. When you cook the carrots down in regular halwa, it gets dry and dehydrated, To make up for that dryness, we add a lot of ghee to make it moist and smooth.
2) Dates instead of sugar:
The dates have some fiber and minerals (nothing that is mind-blowing levels, but better than having zero in sugar). The dates also provide stickiness which brings the halwa together.
3) No ghee (but it is also not fat free on purpose)
Since I am not cooking it on the stove, I am not reducing it with ghee. However, I have added a variety of nuts (almonds, pistachios and walnuts) for the crunch and healthy fat factor. Fats and fiber in a meal reduce the rate of digestion and the conversion slowly into sugar.
Time Upgrades
There is no need to slave over the stove to reduce the halwa. This is a quick and easy chop and blend version.
Healthy Carrot Halwa Recipe
Ingredients (Makes 4 servings)
-
- 1 cup dates
-
- 1.5 cup finely shredded carrots
-
- 3 tsp milk powder (Vegan substitute – almond meal or coconut milk powder)
-
- 3/4 tsp elaichi powder
- 1/3 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pistachio)
Instructions
-
Add 1 cup dates to the food processor and run it till becomes a thick paste. (If you don’t have a food processor, try it in a mixie (blender) without adding water, if possible. Since we are not going to heat the halwa, try to avoid extra moisture as much as you can.)
-
Transfer the paste to a stand mixer or use your good old god-given mixer (a.k.a. hands) to blend the items below
-
Add the shredded carrots (the more finely shredded, the better).
-
Add elaichi powder
-
Add milk powder for the creamy effect. If you want to keep it vegan, use almond meal or coconut milk powder as alternatives.
-
Add the chopped nuts
Ta-da!! Upgraded Carrot Halwa ready
Step by Step Photos
-
Make a date paste
-
Add elaichi, shredded carrots to the date paste in a mixer
-
Add milk powder, chopped nuts and blend
-
Get ready to dig in.
If you like to try more Indian style raw food recipes, check out my post on Raw Food recipes (Satsang Menu).
Additional Resources
Raw carrots have a glycemic index of 16, while cooked carrots have a GI of 49. So, it is really beneficial for your sugar levels to have raw veggies rather than cooked ones. Check out this video for more information on that topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LylsVQ8HFIw
I hope you give this healthy carrot halwa recipe a try. Have you tried making desserts out of raw carrots? Do mention in the comments below.
I tried your carrot halwa. The raw carrot smell was overwhelming. To reduce it, added thick raw coconut milk with cardamom. It was a little watery, but kept in the fridge. While serving added s few pieces of jackfruit. My husband was impressed with the desert.
That sounds like a great ‘upgrade’ to mine :). Thanks for sharing!!
My family’s been making raw carrot halwa for a long time (even before reading this recipe), so this is quite a surprise! Actually, it’s our secret recipe, so no one can tell whether it’s raw or cooked…perfect texture is obtained as well….We use almond-cashew milk, some chilled coconut cream, tiny pinch of salt, cardamom, nutmeg, soft dates, powdered coconut sugar or jaggery or maple syrup…whatever and a few carrot pieces (a few!)….blend it all to super smooth paste…..then, we add the rest of the carrot pieces (a little more than the amount of the entire mixture), and pulse a few times, but we don’t blend it smooth….to get the traditional halwa texture)….we add slightly coarse cashew powder to acquire the mawa-like feel…..chill in the fridge for a few hours, decorate with roasted cashews and slivered pistachios and that’s it!
Oh, of coarse, sometimes I add a bit ore cream or plant milk…and pop it into the dehydrator or oven at the lowest temperature for a few hours to get the cooked feel whilst retaining all of its nutrients…..
Love the texture layering idea – very clever!! Excellent ideas for me and other readers to try out…Thank you!!
This is a fantastic recipe and idea! I have made carrot halva before but was not that fond of it, thought it was too cloyingly sweet. I cant wait to try this version!
Yay!! I hope you like it!!