Carrot Halwa Trifle

I am sharing the recipe for Carrot Halwa Trifle I made for last night’s pop-up dinner. It is a simple dish and I can even call it as India’s national dessert – Gajar Ka Halwa. The finely grated carrots are cooked with milk, heavy cream, condensed milk and cardamom. I reduced it to a creamy, thick mass. Traditionally, they are served warm on cold winter nights but I took the liberty to play with it. This dish is created from my inspiration from American Cheese cake and trifle. I made a coarse crust with Indian digestive biscuits and ghee. That was my starting point. I build the dish by adding hot carrot halwa to it, followed by whipped cream, roasted cashews and coconut.
My guests loved it. I was flying high as everyone who were there for my dinner lst night has such great things to say about my cooking, plating and interaction. Overall, I am one happy girl tonight.

Gajar Ka Halwa / Carrot Halwa Trifle
Ingredients
For the carrot halwa:
- 3 cups carrots, grated
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 10 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 tbsp
cardamom powder
For the trifle
- 1/2 cup roasted cashews
- 1/4 cup roasted sweetened dessicated coconut, pulsed to form powder
- Whipped cream
- 20 Digestive biscuits or ginger snap cookies, crushed and mixed with 1/2 cup ghee or melted butter
Equipment
Pressure Cooker - Shot glasses
Instructions
Pressure Cooker Method:
- Dump all the ingredients listed under “for the carrot halwa” and pressure cook it for 1 whistle. Once the pressure has settled down, remove the lid and let them cook for 15 minutes on medium flame until they turn into a creamy mass.
Slow Cooker Method:
- You can also use a slow cooker to make the carrot halwa
Stove-Top Method:
- You can all the ingredients listed to make carrot halwa into a large pot and cook them in medium-low flame for 45-60 minutes until they turn into mushy and creamy lump.
To assemble the trifle:
- Dry roast the desiccated coconut and once cooled, grind to a coarse powder. Set aside.
- If you are using raw cashews, roast them in little butter or ghee until they turn golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- Add the crushed biscuits in the shot glass, then spoon little bit carrot halwa followed by whipped cream and garnish with roasted cashews and coconut.