Bollywood Cooking

I am writing this straight from Bollywoodalaya, which translates to 'Abode of Bollywood'. Bombay/Mumbai, the commercial capital of India also happens to house most of the Film studios where Hindi films are made, along with the 'Stars' of these films. Although the city has a lot more to it than just the Bollywood connection, this is the most obvious thing one thinks of when talking about Bombay. I remember when I was shifting to Bombay, people told me that I was very lucky as I would now get to see & meet all the stars :) As if all of them were waiting just to meet me!

Coming back to the real purpose of this post, ever since the Monthly Mingle was announced, I have been thinking what should be my entry for this lovely event from Meeta at What's for lunch, honey? The theme for this month is Bollywood cooking. I thought about various dishes and dismissed them for one reason or the other. Then it struck me that nothing could be more 'Bollywood ish' than the good old Gajar ka Halwa and that too Maa ke haathon ka!

There is hardly any Hero who doesnt like it. In fact it would seem that it is one of the criteria if you want to become a hero in a bollywood potboiler(pun intended!). What? You dont like Gajar ka Halwa? Then how can you become a hero???

Every second Bollywood movie has the Hero rushing in bringing one of these good news
a) Maa mujhe naukri mil gayi maa!
b) Maa main paas ho gaya!
c) Maa tera beta aaj vakil/Inspector/Dr ban gaya!
And the 'Maa' would invariably reply saying " Accha ? Yeh toh bahut khushi ki baat hai. Moonh Haath dho le beta, aaj maine tere liye tera man pasand Gajar ka halwa banaya hai!"

But just as the face of Bollywood has changed a little with time, this Gajar ka Halwa also has a 'recipe mein twist'. I have used Dates along with carrots. This has been adapted from one of the recipes of Sanjeev Kapoor, Khana Khazana.

Added on 5th Feb '09 (Made without dates):

Ingredients
2 cups grated Carrots
1 cup chopped Dates
1 cup Sugar (This can be changed to suit your taste, keeping in my mind that Dates also add to the sweetness)
Cardomom powder
1/2 cup grated Khoya/Mawa (Dried thickened whole milk)
Dry fruits such as Almond, Pistachio, Cashewnut, raisins etc
1/4 cup milk
2 tblsp ghee

Heat the ghee in pan. Add the carrot and dates and roast them. Add the sugar and cardomom powder, mix properly and cook for sometime.
Add the nuts and the milk and cook for some more time. Now mix in the grated khoya. Stir properly and turn off the flame. Gasrnish with some more dry fruits.
This simple sounding recipe is as rich as it can be!
So 'Maa ke haath ka Gajar ka Halwa' is my entry to the Monthly Mingle 20.