RECIPE :: Carrot Halva
The curse of gluten intolerance reared its hideously bloated head when I discovered semolina based halva, like many dishes I fell in love with, contains gluten. So in my endless search for gluten free alternatives I discovered a halva based on carrots. I also learnt that the Indians have a wide variety of halvas based on pumpkins, courgettes, squashes, potatoes and yams.
Ingredients
100g + 2tbsp of blanched almonds,
25g of unsalted pistachio nuts,
500g of carrots (grated),
1000ml of sweetened soya milk,
200ml maple syrup,
2tsp of cinnamon,
1tsp of ground cardamom and
3tbsp of ghee and
2tbsp of raisons.
Method
| 1) |
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180C / 350F. |
| 2) |
Place 100g of the almonds and half of the pistachio nuts into a blender and whiz away until powdered. |
| 3) |
Place the left over nuts onto a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes. When cooled thinly slice them and place them aside. |
| 4) |
Place the carrots, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, cardamom and ground nuts into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated. Stir frequently. |
| 5) |
Melt the ghee in a frying pan over a medium heat. Place the carrot mix into the pan and fry for 25-30 minutes or until the carrots have dried and become a more reddy colour. Remove from the heat and mix in the raisons. |
| 6) |
Place the carrots onto a plate and mould into a half orb and sprinkle with the roasted nuts. Serve hot or cold. |
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