As winter begins, every Indian household gets ready to prepare all the delectable seasonal delicacies. Our kitchen is overflowing with mouthwatering dishes, including gajak, til patti, saag, achaars, and an endless list of others! Yet gajar (or carrot) ka halwa is the one item that everyone looks forward to and craves the most throughout the winter. In fact, I have grown up seeing my parents and grandparents make this delectable halwa. And when it is prepared, we all enjoy filling our bowls with it without a care in the world.
What Is Carrot (Or Gajar) Halwa?
Gajar ka halwa is a classic Indian dessert made of shredded carrots, milk, ghee, a generous amount of refined sugar, and some chopped carrots. The end product is an orange-hued dish that is sweet, textured, and popular in North Indian homes throughout the winter. I have prepared this carrot halwa recipe in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT.
Carrot Halwa Ingredients
Ghee: Adding a good quantity of homemade ghee, enhances the taste and texture of the halwa. I highly recommend not cutting down the quantity of ghee for this recipe.Carrot: Choose fresh and tender carrots. You can also use Indian red carrots.Milk: I have used full-fat dairy milk, you can also make it with almond milk, if you are vegan.Sugar: I have used refined sugar in this recipe.Almond meal (or khova): I have used blanched almond flour that is easily available in Costco and any Indian grocery store. It enhances the taste. You can also use khoya.Cardamom powder: I have used freshly ground cardamom from 3 whole green cardamom pods.Mixed nuts: Use sliced almonds or pistachios. You can also use roasted cashews & raisins.
How to make Carrot Halwa in Instant Pot
Take eight large carrots, peel the skin and grate them using a grater or food processor. I have used a thick shredder/grater attachment. Sanitize the Instant Pot parts well before making the sweet dish. Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add one tablespoon of ghee into the Pot. Then add the shredded carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell of carrots disappears. Add milk and mix well. Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes. Once the pot beeps, do a QUICK RELEASE. Open the lid and turn the pot to SAUTE (HIGH) again. Then add sugar, almond meal, cardamom powder, and remaining ghee, and cook until all the milk has been reduced (evaporated). It approximately takes another 5-6 minutes. Garnish with sliced almonds or pistachios. Serve Instant pot pressure cooker carrot/gajar ka halwa hot, warm, or you can also serve it cold.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
In a stovetop pressure cooker, add 1 tablespoon of ghee into the pot, once hot then add the shredded carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell of carrots disappears.Add milk and mix well. Close the lid. Place a whistle and cook for 1 whistle on medium flame.After pressure has released naturally, open the lid and add sugar, almond meal, cardamom powder, and remaining ghee and cook until all the milk has been reduced (evaporated). It takes approximately another 5-6 minutes.Garnish with sliced almonds or pistachios. Serve carrot halwa hot, warm, or you can also serve it cold.
Variations & Tips
You can replace sugar with jaggery or brown sugar.If you don’t have cardamom, replace it with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.I highly recommend adding sugar after the pressure cooking, sometimes impurities in the sugar can curdle the milk and spoil.To make the gajar halwa richer, you can add condensed milk after the pressure cooking and adjust the sugar quantity accordingly or add khoya/khova instead of an almond meal.If you are not adding almond flour or khoya you can increase the amount of milk while pressure cooking carrots.Sanitize the Instant Pot steel insert, lid, and sealing ring before making sweet to avoid milk curdling. I always keep an extra sealing ring for sweets separately.
More Instant Pot Dessert Recipes
Rice KheerBadam Halwa Recipe (with Almond Flour)Semiya Payasam (Vermicelli Kheer)Moong Dal PayasamSweet PongalBeetroot Halwa
If you’ve tried this easy Carrot halwa recipe or any other recipe on Indianveggiedelight, then don’t forget to rate the recipe. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see the latest recipes! Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for healthy & tasty video recipes. Looking for Instant Pot recipes, then check out my Instant Pot Recipes board on Pinterest.
