Gajar Halawa

Gajar Halawa (गाजर हलवा)

Richness,Temptation, Surprise, Satisfaction, Care  Health-Concern, 

Type:	Desert	Hot, Cold, Ice-Cold	For: 8 persons	Process: Sautéing, Boiling, Mixing
Dietary Value:	Calcium & Other	Vit A,D, B-Complex	Proteins, Fat (Saturated), Fiber	Anti-Oxidants – Beta-Carotene  Omega 3 fatty acids (with Almonds)
Time:	Preparation:	20 min	Serving:	5 min – with decoration of each bowl
	Recipe:	30 min	Eating:	2 to 20 min- depending on how much and how you eat

Name:	Gajar Halawa
Preface:	This special desert is prepared for special occasions (special family dinners, special events or special guests – in-laws, bosses, friends, etc.). It is rich in color, aroma, flavor, taste, consistency and content and hence very rightly chosen as a special dessert after (or during) special dinners.
Will:	·        It can be prepared for your (real) best friend and his family. ·        But today we will prepare it for your real enemy and rival to whom you have to call your best friend (or your boss whom you have to impress unwillingly), and incidentally, who is also diabetic, hypertensive and with week heart (and his family that is not involved in his sins), you have invited for the dinner. ·         So, we will prepare it (and the dinner) for two families (8 persons)
Pre-Preparation:	·        Being main chef we will only prepare the Main dish of Gajar Halawa. But We will do all the Pre-preparation of grating the carrots, boiling milk and preparing Nutmeg and Cardamom Powder, etc. ·        The dinner for 8 will be prepared, of course, by your expert and well trained (not by you) assistant – your spouse.
Preparation:	We will need 1 Kg carrots, 100 gm sugar, 1 Lit milk, 100 ml fresh cream, 250 gm Khawa, 5 tablespoons of pure Desi Ghee, 5 cloves (Lavang), 1” cinnamon (Dalchini), cardamom (Veldoda) and nutmeg (Jayphal) Powder, 100 gm dry fruits.
Recipe:	·        Walk to the market (at least once a week) that is at least 3 Km away and bye 1 Kg good quality carrots. (along with other vegetables and provisions). I will come with you if you insist. But, after all, you have to walk on your own legs. ·        Wash them thoroughly. ·        Keep four big carrots away. ·        Grate other carrots. ·        In a frying pan take 5 tablespoons of Pure Desi Ghee (you can take more if you love Ghee) and put it on a gas burner. Add 5 cloves and 1” cinnamon.   ·        Add grated carrots and 100 gm sugar (or more if you like) and stir continuously till all the excess water is evaporated. ·        Add 1 Lit. whole milk (or 500 ml condensed milk) slowly. (add less sugar if you are adding condensed milk) ·        Add 250 gm Khawa and 100 ml fresh cream and stir. ·        Add cardamom and nutmeg Powder. ·        Add 100 gm (or more if you like) dry fruits. ·        Boil the mixture (with constant stirring) till the desired consistency is achieved. The Gajar Halawa is ready. ·        Let it get cooled (if you are patient enough).
Fortification:	What more fortification you need?
Skills:	·        It is necessary to evaporate excess water before adding milk. ·        Continuous stirring is essential throughout the process. Both steps are necessary to prevent separation of milk and maintain thick creamy consistency.   ·        Sugar can be added at the end. ·        If the milk separates (Paneerization) don’t worry. Evaporate excess water to make it thick and granular. Nobody knows whether you wanted it to be semi-liquid and creamy or thick, solid and granular.
Decoration:	Decorate it with chopped Dry fruits. And cardamom grains.
Serving:	·        Gajar Halawa can be served Hot, cold or Ice-Cold; with breakfast or high tea and during or after dinner. Today we are going to serve it after dinner (as a desert). So lots of patience (from your side) is necessary. ·        By the time the dish is ready, with only the thought of the added ingredients (that you love so much), with the mere site of thick orange creamy dish studded with dry fruits and with the unbelievable and indescribable aroma, you must be feeling very hungry and impatient. ·        But wait for the Special guests you have invited for the dinner. Serve them the lavish dinner exclusively prepared for this special occasion (after of course 3-4 pegs of whiskey – only for him. You can have lemon sherbet or 1 peg of wine). You stick to your usual diet (see – 7 simple steps to fitness). ·        Of course the Guests will not know that they will be having Gajjjaar Halawa (prepared by YOU) as a dessert. So it (really both) will be a surprise for them.  ·        So serve the special Gajar Halawa dramatically. And when they appreciate it, disclose dramatically that YOU have prepared it. (If they appreciate! Otherwise don’t disclose.)
Savoring:	·        Serve your Special Friend the special Gajar Halawa liberally and insist that he should eat at least three bowls. That will serve him good for his uncontrolled Diabetes and high Cholesterol). He will, of course, succumb to the Temptation (the last peg in his coffin). ·        Let the friend’s wife decide for herself. Though we don’t have anything against her, we are not responsible for her health either. ·        Let children eat (in large quantities) and enjoy it fully (if they are not overweight). It is good for them. If they are also overweight, reconsider the whole menu for dinner and DON’T PREPARE GAJAR HALAWA.  ·        You (and your wife), on the other hand, take those four big carrots kept aside (2 for u & 2 for ur spouse), break them into 4-5 pieces each and eat raw very slowly, chewing each piece at least 32 times, letting all the juices trickle on your tongue and appreciate the REAL taste of carrots, while remembering the joy of preparing a good dish – THE GAJAR HALAWA. ·        If temptation is irresistible, eat only one teaspoon very slowly and enjoy.
Thoughts & Afterthoughts	·        Gajar Halawa is the Best dish equally for those who love Sweet Dishes and those who don’t. ·        Prepare it with Love and Concern. Healthy children can eat it without restriction. ·        Afterwards one should be careful. Make it a habit to eat such dishes in very small quantities and really very slowly; appreciating the delicate flavors, haunting aromas and lingering tastes and with full satisfaction. After all, the satisfaction is important than the amount of dish eaten. More doesn’t give more satisfaction.  ·        Jokes apart, With Diabetes, Hypertension and heart disease such dishes are really dangerous. They may trigger serious complications. ·        'Dudhi' (white pumpkin) Halawa is a similar dish and in the same line we can (?) prepare (with some modifications) ‘Bhopala (red pumpkin) Halawa’, ‘Beetroot Halawa’, ‘Mulika (Radish) (and Lal Mulika) Halawa’, ‘Potato Halawa’, ‘Sweet Potato Halawa’, etc. ·        If we like it very much but don’t want it to be dangerous, we can prepare it in skimmed or fatless milk, with half (50 gm) sugar/jaggory and only 1 teaspoon of Ghee (for flavor) without adding Khawa, cream and dry fruits (“Charoli” and few almonds will do).      ·        Why we are not satisfied with natural sweetness of fruits and foodstuffs? Why we are not satisfied with "just a little", tested with full concentration?

Roasted Multi-grain Flour (भाजणी) Cuisines - 2 - Bajani Wadas (भाजणीचे वडे)

Bajani Wada (भाजणीचे वडे) 

Type:	Bread / Roti / Pizza / Bhakari	Hot / Cold	For: 4 Persons	Processes: Roasting, Grinding, Mixing, Kneading, Frying
Nutritive Value:	Carbohydrates, proteins, Fats		Minerals	Soluble and Non-soluble Fiber
Cooking Time:	Pre-preparation:	10 Min	Serving:	1 Min
	Preparation:	20-30 Min	Eating:	15 to 30 Min

Name:	Bajani Wada (भाजणीचे वडे)
Preface:	This is a very tasty and Nutritious cuisine, made from a Versatile Multi-Grain Flour (Bhajanu-भाजणी), that can be eaten any time in a day. But it is Fried cuisine. So, older people should eat it in moderation. Persons with diabetes, obesity, hypertension and heart disease should not eat it at all (they can ear 'Thalipeeth' instead. it is very good for growing children (especially as a tiffin) and young adults.
	So now we will prepare Bajani Wadas for 4 persons (4-5 per person)
Pre-preparation:	Preparation of Multi-Grain Flour (Bhajani-भाजणी): See the Process on this Blog.
Preparation:	We will need 4 bowls of Bhajani, (preferably home-made as per our method), finely chopped coriander, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (or green chili paste), 4-5 teaspoons sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon jeera, 1 teaspoon ajwain (or ajowan) seeds, salt to taste, water and oil to fry. You can add ginger and/or garlic paste, black pepper powder or garam masala.
Recipe:	We will thoroughly mix 4 bowls of dry Bhajani and all other ingredients . 4 We will add water slowly to make a thick dough, knead it thoroughly and roll about 18-20 balls.  Now we will keep some oil (enough for deep-frying) for heating in a deep wok  We will flatten one ball into thick discoid shape. (Second can be flattened while frying one. Or you can take an assistant to flatten the balls or to fry them - whichever you consider unimportant. Or you can keep a person to prepare them totally. But, then what will YOU do except eating? In that case you will be totally dependent and the person preparing them - your spouse? - can deny you any single Wada.)   When the oil is optimally hot fry Wadas one by one.   (Test: Put a very small ball of dough in the oil. If it remains at the bottom, oil is not hot. If it immediately comes to surface with lots of bubbles, the oil is hot enough to fry. If there is smoke, oil is overheated and if there are flames you have lost everything. But in any case don't insert your fingers in the oil to test its hotness.)
Fortification:	Bhajani (prepared by our method) contains all available whole grains and pulses in ideal (2:1, 3:1 or 4:1) proportion. So it is already rich in carbohydrates, good quality proteins, fiber and many minerals; Roasting makes it easy to digest and frying makes it rich in fats.    We can add grated Carrot, Radish, Beetroot, Red/White Pumpkin, etc. or chopped Cabbage or any green-leafy vegetable in the dough.  Or we can eat them with any Salad.  We can use them as base and fortify them with various types of Veg or Non-veg toppings. In this way we can convert it from Two-dish-meal to One-dish-meal.
Skills:	Thorough kneading of dough is very essential.  Dough becomes loose if kept for long time. Initially, giving attention to uniform thickness is more important than the perfect round shape. It facilitates uniform frying.  Making hole at the center prevents Wada from inflating. without central hole we will get it's ballooned (inflated) version. Apply some oil or water to fingers while flattering the dough to prevent sticking of the dough to fingers. To fry anything is a very skillful (and dangerous also) job. Start (you can start with these Wadas) and practice it under guidance. Practice it (at least 1000 'Frying hours') to master it. (We provide 'Frying guidance' also.)  But frying these Wadas is not a very skillful job. Even if they remain soft, chewy, crispy or hard, they are tasty. And really it is very difficult to decide level of frying because of the blackish brown color of Bhajani. And the temptation (because of the smells) to taste them is so strong that nobody is willing to wait and achieve perfection. only see that they are not undercooked or over-fried to charcoal.
Decoration & Presentation:	It is enough to arrange them artistically (meaning what?). in any way. you can decorate them with onions, tomatoes,  carrots, beetroot, coriander, mint leaves and/or cheese.
Serving:	Serve them hot (but it is not mandatory) with (home-made, white) butter, Pickle (and/or Sauce) and a bowl of Curds or Buttermilk.
Tasting:	You probably want to eat them hot. But don't start biting immediately after frying. Mouth burns (fried things are hotter inside). But, Of course, you will remember this for life and learn, if you are wise. (It is said that wise men learn from experience - but once they are wise, they don't have to learn). Always eat these Wadas in very small portions (even though you are impatient) and chew them thoroughly. That way their taste enhances and lingers in mouth for a long time. This gives lasting satisfaction.  It is more fun to eat them slowly while chatting with friends.
Afterthoughts:	Bhalani is a very useful, nutritious and versatile flour. it should always be present in the kitchen.  We can make many tasty, easy to prepare (anybody-can-cook dishes) and nutritious cuisines (Bhakari, Thalipeeth, Wadas, Kadaboli, etc.) with this flour in very short time.  These cuisines are useful as starters, snacks, side dishes,  breakfast, one part of two-dish-meal and one-dish meal.  We can use them as base for many types of toppings. Their ballooned version (without central hole) can be used for many types of stuffings.