Tonka's carrot halwa (gajar ka halwa)

The name originates from the Arabic word “halwa” which means sweet. “Gajar”means “carrot”in Hindi.

At Tonka, we use gajar ka halwa as the main component in our carrot cake dessert, which is a take on the flavours of an American carrot cake. It’s paired with cream cheese ice cream, whipped mascarpone, walnut crumb, and apricot coulis. The sweetness of the gajar ka halwa is balanced by adding a little lemon zest.

It also can be made with other types of carrots, like yellow or purple. In fact, in Northern India it’s made with purple carrots (which are grow abundantly) and ricotta.

This dessert can be served cold or at room temperature, or even hot on cold days.