Instant Pot Gajar Halwa

Instant pot gajar halwa! Yes gajar halwa made in the instant pot in about 15 minutes. So obviously a very quick method to make a delicious gajar halwa in the IP. It makes for a delicious after-meal sweet dish and is quite often made during winters in North India.

Earlier I used to make gajar halwa in a stovetop pressure cooker and have now moved on to making it in the instant pot. I have to admit that instant pot is one of my favorite gadgets to cook with. Indian food adapts very well in the instant pot and gives great results.

Key points

1. Cooking and time: traditionally this Indian carrot pudding is slow-cooked and simmered for hours with frequent stirrings. With the instant pot, it just takes 15 minutes to make the halwa with the same taste and texture as the traditionally made one. If you don’t believe me, you have to try it yourself.
2. Less handwork: cooking the halwa in the IP requires less handwork and stirrings as compared to the traditional slow-cooked method. If you want to make a big batch of halwa then you can easily double or triple this recipe.
3. Three ingredients: usually in the pressure cooker method of making carrot halwa, condensed milk or milk powder or khoya (milk solids) are added, but I do not add them as these ingredients are not there in one’s kitchen all the time. The recipe uses three main ingredients for halwa – Fresh juicy carrots, milk and sugar. some nuts & dry fruits and a bit of cardamom powder is added for more taste and aroma.
4. Two cooking techniques: First is to pressure cook the halwa mixture for 3 minutes in the IP. Then with a QPR (quick pressure release), the halwa is sauteed for 5 to 10 minutes till it thickens. This second part of sauteing is also easy.

Earlier, I have also shared the traditional slow-cooked stove-top version – Carrot halwa.

How to make Instant Pot Gajar Halwa

Preparation:

1. First thinly slice or chop 1 tablespoon of cashews, 1 tablespoon of almonds and 1 tablespoon of pistachios. Also, powder 4 to 5 green cardamoms and keep them aside or you can use ½ teaspoon premade ground cardamom powder.

2. Rinse and then peel 500 grams carrots OR 4 to 5 juicy red carrots.

Make sure to buy tender, fresh and juicy carrots as they are easy to grate and also the halwa tastes good.

3. Grate the carrots using a handheld grater or food processor. You will need about 4 to 4.5 cups of grated carrots. Use a fine grater.

Pressure cooking in the IP

4. Take the grated carrots in the steel insert.

5. Add 1.5 cups full-fat milk or whole milk and ½ cup sugar.

6. Add 4 tablespoons of ghee.

7. Mix very well.

8. Switch on the IP. Cover with the instant pot lid and position the valve to sealing position. Press the pressure cook button on high for 3 minutes on high pressure.

9. After 3 minutes of pressure cooking, once the beep sound is heard, do a quick pressure release (QPR) by lifting the pressure valve. Let all the steam get released. Remove the IP lid. Stir and mix very well.

Sautéing in the IP

10. Press cancel and then press the sauté button for 5 to 10 minutes or 12 minutes on normal mode.

11. The halwa mixture will begin to simmer and bubble.

12. Continue to stir often.

13. When the halwa mixture has almost thickened, add the sliced or chopped dry fruits along with 1 tablespoon raisins. Also add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder.

14. Keep on stirring and simmering till the liquids have evaporated. When you move a spoon in the halwa, the space created by the spoon should not be filled with any liquids. This implies that the halwa is done.

15. When you reach step 14 (above) the halwa will become glossy and ghee will be released from the sides and all the moisture will be evaporated and the mixture will be thickened, then press the cancel button. If the mixture has not thickened well, then continue to stir and sauté for few more minutes.

Serve instant pot gajar halwa hot or warm in the winters. You can also have it chilled if you prefer. But we like to serve it hot during the winter season. Leftovers can be refrigerated.

Tips and suggestions

Vegan option – use almond milk and follow the same method for cooking in the IP. Use vegan butter or a neutral-tasting oil instead of ghee.

Carrots – both the red and orange variety of carrots work well in the recipe. Just make sure that the carrots are juicy, tender and not fibrous.

Scaling– you can halve or double or triple the recipe.

Sweeteners – though traditionally sugar is used to make this halwa. But you can use other sweeteners like jaggery, palm sugar, coconut sugar or maple syrup. For palm sugar, coconut sugar and jaggery – add these after the halwa has thickened and is done. Then using the saute option, mix very well till the jaggery or coconut sugar is melted. If jaggery or coconut sugar is added earlier while pressure cooking, then the milk will get curdled.

Make ahead option – the recipe can be easily made a day or two before and then refrigerated. While serving warm the halwa in the IP or in a pan before serving. The halwa stays good for about a week in the refrigerator.

More instant pot recipes

• Instant pot rice pudding
• Instant pot aloo gobi
• Instant pot dal tadka
• Instant pot chilli mushroom

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more veetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Instant Pot Carrot Halwa post from the archives first published in Jan 2017 has been republished and updated on January 2023.

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