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?

Okra-Fry in Cheese-Paneer Sauce

Fried Okra (Lady Fingers) in Cheese-Paneer Sause 

Type:	Vegetable in Semisolid Sauce/Gravy	Hot	For: 8 Persons	Processes: Cutting, Frying, Preparation of ‘Phodani’, Boiling, Seasoning, Mixing.
Nutritive Value:	Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats	Vitamins – “A”, “B-Plex” and “C”	Minerals (mainly Calcium)	Soluble and Non-soluble Fiber
Cooking Time:	Pre-preparation:	30 Min	Serving:	1 Min
	Preparation:	10 Min	Eating:	15 to 30 Min

Name:	Okra-Fry (Bhendi or lady Finger) in Cheese-Paneer Sauce/(Thick Garvy)
Preface:	·         Try and Taste this very delicious dish after trying (thanks for trying) our new and special dish - Okra-Fry in Mango Sauce (WOW, it was unimaginably wonderful!!). This is a dish in the same tradition, but with totally different nature and taste.  ·          Plain Okra-Fry is a popular dish and is usually found in marriage and other party menus. You must have tried that soggy, oily and brown dish that sticks in your mouth. ·         But Okra-Fry in Cheese-Paneer Sauce? WOW, it’s a totally different story. Unimaginably wonderful!!
	So, we will now prepare this new Okra-Fry in Cheese-Paneer Sauce.
Pre-preparation:	·         Except extracting pulp of mangoes Pre-preparation is same as that of 'Okra-Fry in Mango Sauce'. ·         So, please follow instructions in that Recipe. Bring One Kg. Okra. ·         Cut their stalks and give a logitudinal slit.
Preparation:	We will take 100 gm cheese (cut in small pieces - about 8 x 8mm), 100-150 gm paneer (cut in small pieces - about 10 x 10 mm), 1 kg Okras (now ready to use), 4 green chilies (with longitudinal slit), 1-2 tsf red chili powder, Ingredients of ‘Phodani’ (6 tsf edible oil, 1 tsf mustard seeds, 2 tsf cumin seeds, turmeric powder and asafetida powder) (See Post ‘Phodani’), 4 tsf ‘Desi Ghee’, 4 Cloves, 8 black peppers (coarse powder), 1" cinnamon, 2 tomatoes - finely chopped, 4 tablespoons curd (or Yogurt, or fresh cream), finely chopped coriander leaves, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and salt to taste.
Recipe:	Prepare simple 'Okra-Fry' with our method (Please see it's recipe in 'Okra-Fry in Mango Sauce') and remove from fry-pan. In the same fry-pan, in the remaining oil add 4 tsf ‘Desi Ghee’. Add 1 tsf pepper powder, cinnamon, cloves and turmeric powder.  Add finely chopped tomatoes and fry for 2 min.  Add curd and paneer pieces, some water if necessary, sugar, and salt to taste (only for sauce).   Add fried Okras and half of coriander leaves and stir carefully for 1 min till the sauce covers okra evenly. Add cheese pieces and taste it.  Adjust sourness, if necessary, by adding lemon juice and adjust other tastes. Continue boiling only for 1 more minute.   ·
Fortification:	·   This cuisine is so rich in Tastes and flavors; colors and appearance; texture and Nutritive Value that it is not necessary to fortify it. ·   For children NOT spoiled with over-pampering, you can add any amount of extra paneer or cheese.  for you and your spoiled overweight children add paneer and cheese in moderation or don't add at all (and use only plain curds. Don't use fresh cream, and Desi Ghee).  If you want, you can add some grated coconut, almonds, pistachios and cashew nuts. but instead, try adding walnuts.
Skills:	·     This exquisite and delicate dish is very simple, easy and quick to prepare. But … it is exquisite and delicate. ·     For skillful jobs of cutting okras, slitting them, preserving specific color while frying them and delicately stirring, tossing and lightly mixing them with sauce, see 'Okra-Fry in Mango Sauce'.  ·     (Color change means Loss of valuable Vitamins and Anti-Oxidants. It is ridiculous if a cuisine rich in appearance, taste, flavors and texture is poor in quality and nutritive value.)  ·     Inhaling the flavors before tasting is important. Make it your habit.  ·     Last, but not the least, tasting at various stages to adjust all tastes properly is very important.  It is a myth that just adding lots of cheese-paneer makes any dish tasty. Adding cheese-paneer is like enhancement plastic surgeries.
Presentation:	This dish with dazzling green okra in orange-yellow-white glittering sauce with dashes of red tomatoes is attractive and mouth watering in itself. You need not decorate it, except adding chopped coriander.
Serving:	Be ready with everything arranged on dining table. When this dish is ready, add remaining half of chopped coriander and serve it hot immediately and HMmmm!! Start! Now you cannot wait.
Tasting:	·     Half of the people at the dining table, who have already tasted this dish before, can’t and don’t wait. ·     Those who are going to eat this for the first time, but had already tasted 'Okra-Fry in Mango Sauce', will trust us and will be eager to taste this one also.  ·     Those who are going to eat this for the first time, haven't tasted 'Okra-Fry in Mango Sauce', but are always ready to try new things, will say – Oh … a new and novel recipe. Let’s try. ·     Those who are always reluctant to try new things, will have a feeling – Oh … what is this!? ... But if only they make up their minds and taste it … Wow!! ·     Once tasted you will definitely say, It has and it IS “Something Special”. ·     It can be eaten, as any other vegetable, with Bread, Roti, Parantha, Nan, Rice or anything. But it is good as a separate dish or as a starter also. ·     And the one who licks the last of it from the pan is really fortunate.
Afterthoughts	·     In 'Cheese-Paneer Sauce' we can add hung curd, cream-curd/yogurt or fresh cream.  We can also add cashew-almond paste. ·     We can make this sauce more or less sweet by adding more sugar, honey or fruits.  ·     In this type of Cheese-Paneer Sauce we can add fried potatoes, cauliflower, (any vegetable for that matter - even Cluster Beans - गवार, French beans or bitter-gourd - कार्ले) and fried boneless chicken or fish(pomfret, surmai, tilapia, salmon, etc.) or prawns.   ·     Try to make simple 'Okra-Fry' in our way.