Carrot Halwa

First Ayurvedic carrot halva recipe I found in LAYoga magazine /december2008/january2009/. It said that “according to ayurveda the fall season is the time when the vata dosha (air and ether elements) are on the rise, making our body and skin cold, dry and rough and our mind restless and anxious. We want to eat something that will help us feel grounded, well-lubricated and calm. Sweet, warm, heavy and moist foods have qualities exactly opposite of vata dosha, reducing dryness and roughness. It’s no wonder that we gravitate toward sweet and heavy foods around the holidays. Root veggies growing in the ground have a grounding effect so the ingredients in the carrot halwa encourage balance during sometimes stressful holiday season.”
I made carrot halwa many times and experimenting adding rose water, almonds and coconut puree to suit my taste. I hope it will suite yours too.

Recipe:
2 cups grated carrots
3 tbls ghee (use butter if you don’t have ghee)
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup chopped almonds
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup coconut puree
1 tsp rose water
1 tsp cardamom powder (you can use cinnamon instead)


In a pan sauté carrots in ghee for a few minutes. Add sugar and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Stir in coconut puree and cook for few more minutes. Remove from heat and add rose water, cardamom, almonds and raisins. Leave it to cool a little bit. In original, carrot halwa should be eaten warm, but because it is quite sweet, I usually serve it cold in paper candy cups as shown on the picture above.