Friday, November 22, 2013

Gajar Halwa Pie


Move over pumpkin, carrots are here. When a brain wave hits, it hits hard. Yesterday when I saw an image of a pie on TV, a light bulb went on. How about I use the classic Indian dessert Gajar Halwa (Gajar = carrots and I’m not sure what the halwa equivalent is, pudding would be wrong. Halwa is a dessert in which the subject (carrots, semolina, wheat flour) is cooked in clarified butter (ghee), milk and sugar. Semantics aside, I knew I had to try this.



only pumpkin used in this, is the one you see in the picture!
  

The making of this Gajar Halwa (Carrot) Pie could easily be made into a short film. There were many a roadblocks to this pie. From hunting down the store that carried this pie pan (was surprised many were out of them), to dodging hoards of holiday shoppers, to a gajar halwa that almost turned out to be carrot soup, to a pie that fell apart while being pulled out of the oven in 10 mins, to smoke alarms, and unbaked crust.. I’ve endured a lot to make this pie here. Because, I believed! I knew it was something I had to try. And as if that wasn’t enough, by the time I was done with everything, it was dark outside and it was too late to take any sort of decent pics. Hence, just the one pic.Don’t let the lack of visual aids deter you from trying this pie though. Its really good – a real nice change from the classic pumpkin, I hope,
If you were so inclined to try something different at thanksgiving this year, you might want to give this a shot. Although the recipe is Indian, there are no exotic ingredients – unless you consider cardamom and nutmeg that.

RECIPE
Carrot (Gajar) Halwa
Ingredients
-       1 lb carrots, grated
-       1 can condensed milk
-       ½ cup regular milk
-       Nutmeg
-       2-3 pods cardamom
*Note: you don’t need sugar if you are using condensed milk. Alternately, you can only use milk (full fat preferably) and sugar instead of condensed milk)
Instructions
-       In a pan, add milk and grated carrots and let cook for 45 – 60 mins till the carrots are cooked well and soft. If you have a pressure cooker, the easiest technique is to pressure cook for 5-6 whistles and let it cool for 10 mins. Either approach is fine.
-       When the carrots cook fully, add ¾ can of condensed milk, powdered nutmeg and crushed seeds from the cardamom pod.
-       Let this mix cook thoroughly for another 20-30 mins or until it thickens.
Pie Crust
This is  a butter based standard pie crust recipe. There is the vegetable shortening camp and the butter camp when it comes to pie crust. I absolutely love the use of butter. You will never ever find shortening in my kitchen, I promise.
Ingredients
-       1 stick cold unsalted butter
-       1.25 cups of all purpose flour
-       Pinch of salt
-       Ice cold water
Instructions
-       First cut the cold butter stick into small cubes. I shredded the butter to get more butter/flour ratio. Put it back in the fridge for 10 mins so its cold again
-       In a bowl, add flour and salt and then the cold cubed, shredded butter. Mix lightly by hand to let the butter and flour adhere.
-       Start adding ice cold water by spoon and incorporate the water into the dough. Only use 1 spoon of water at a time.
-       You are looking for a dough that’s come together but is not too wet.
-       Once its well mixed, cover with wrap and put it back in the fridge for 30 mins

Pie Assembly
-       Take the pie crust dough out of the fridge and on a floured base, roll it out to ¼ inch thickness
-       Lay the dough over the pie pan and push it down to fit the pan
-       By hand or with a knife cut the overhanging top off to give the pie a nice smooth edge
-       Fill the pie with the gajar halwa and put it in a 400 degree oven for 10 mins
-       At 10 mins, lower the temp to 350 degrees (don’t pull the pie out, it will fall apart!) and bake for 30 more mins.
-       When handling the pie pan, hold it from the sides so the side rim of the pan doesn’t fall out.
-       You can serve this warm with vanilla icecream or at room temperature.
(Note: Gajar Halwa is often served with vanilla icecream so this combination will work with the pie as well)

14 comments:

  1. great idea sis, I made a pie with sooji coconut halwa, rather a deconstructed karanji, turns out pretty good too ...Happy thanksgiving to you all

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just mouthwatering...looks easy and delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, I might be a big fan of this one from now. Great idea my dear.
    Lovely idea, if carrot halwa is not tasty enough, there's the buttery crust to enjoy with it.
    HAVE A great thanksgiving.

    ReplyDelete
  4. First Kale Kadhi and now Gajjar Pie, you are on a roll! Looks yum.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've never had gajar halwa although my dad has always raved about it! What a great twist.

    And I'm not surprised that everyone is out of pie pan...everyone is out of everything lately and Whole Foods just scares me. A lot.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh My - Archana I adore halwa - I didn't think it could be improved on ...at least, not until I happened to see your halwa pie! Good Gosh lady - one day I am gonna visit and I will bring you peanut butter chocolate oat bars if you give me a slice of this pie!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Brilliant idea! It would be so perfect for thanksgiving - with Indian twist! Absolutely loved it:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love it! This is the season for carrots and this looks like a perfect traditional dessert with a modern spin. Well done!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Halwa in pie form sounds like a dream! I'm glad that, despite the initial hassle, it worked out in the end because it looks delicious! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Archana, I so enjoy follow your blog, and it give me "that little extra" - so I am sending the Versatile Blogger Award your way:-) Keep blogging! http://expatliv.blogspot.in/2013/12/the-versatile-blogger-award-to-expatliv.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really like gajar halwa, but putting it into a pie is a very clever update. Im sure its absolutely delicious!
    *kisses* H

    ReplyDelete
  12. what an interesting recipe. I am not much of a pie person but really like carrot halwa.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love carrot Halwa. Never heard of it in a pie, this very original. Hey, are you in Sydney yet???

    ReplyDelete
  14. A very unique twist to traditional pie. Yum!

    ReplyDelete