Instant Pot Gajar Halwa

A delicious Indian dessert made with carrots, Gajar Halwa is an addictive and magical recipe. 

Cut the long cooking time by using the Instant Pot without compromising on the taste and flavor.

Carrot is the star of the winter months. It is found in so many forms in the kitchens throughout the season. From salads and pickles to desserts; carrots are omnipresent. And when it comes to carrots; this carrot halwa ice cream and carrot noodles with tofu is made over and over again.

One of the most popular form of enjoying carrots in India is in this sweet form called Gajar Halwa. A delicious dessert that doubles up as a sweet, carrot halwa is perfect with some vanilla ice-cream.

Jump to:

• What is Gajar Halwa
• Why this recipe works
• About Winter Red Carrots
• Using the Instant Pot
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to make this recipe
• Expert Tips and Notes
• Storage and Serving
• Vegan Version
• Using a Pressure Cooker
• Recipe FAQs
• More Delicious Indian Dessert Recipes
• Instant Pot Gajar Halwa

What is Gajar Halwa

A delicious Indian dessert made using carrots, Gajar Halwa is definitely one of the most popular dessert. Literally, gajar in Hindi translates to carrots and halwa is a sweetmeat or pudding. So this one is known as carrot pudding too. And popular as Gajrela as well.

A popular find at weddings, Indian restaurants and homes; Gajar Halwa is loved through winters. Whether served piping hot or in a cold version topped with vanilla ice cream; this dessert is truly heavenly.

Slow cooked carrots in full fat milk gives it the magical flavor, consistency and taste. No thickeners are required and only patience gets you to the end result! 

This dessert has been the highlight in so many events we have had in India. Plus, a starting point to a whole new world of fusion desserts like trifles and gajar halwa ice ceam, this is truly a delight.

Why this recipe works

• It is easy to make in the Instant Pot with only a few minutes of cook time.
• We use red carrots in the recipe, making it a classic.
• A perfect dessert, it can be served hot or cold.
• We need only a handful of ingredients to make this carrot halwa.
• The recipe comes together in a fraction of the time and stirring than that of traditional gajar halwa.
• We can be made the same recipe in a small batch or in bulk.
• It is delicious as is or with vanilla ice cream or to use in another fusion dessert.

About Winter Red Carrots

Carrots are obviously the star of the recipe. While technically any kind of carrots are great for the recipe, the Indian red carrots are simply amazing.

Available in India for a very short time, these red carrots are juicy, softer and sweeter than the orange ones. They make the gajar halwa super amazing.

However, I have not once spotted these in the US for over 8 years. And then all of a sudden they appeared a couple of years ago. It was like a rare spotting at the farmers market; but since last year these are everywhere. The farmers market carry them, the Indian stores sell them and they are in other grocery stores as well.

These make the best halwa and so I like to use just them to make carrot halwa in Winters.

Using the Instant Pot

The traditional version of gajar halwa takes hours to make. Carrots are grated and cooked with milk till they are soft. Then mawa (milk solids) are added and so are the add-ins. 

Pretty complex and time consuming but the final product is so good. 

I have made it several times with orange and red carrots but lately this version made in the Instant Pot has been a favorite. It is quick and easy and a real short-cut recipe.

Cooking on the open flame gets substituted with the Instant Pot and mawa gets replaced with milk powder or mawa powder. As it is in the powder form it takes only a couple minutes to cook and does not release a lot of moisture.

So the recipe is perfect; lesser time, handful of ingredients and perfect results each time!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Carrots: The core ingredient here is carrots. If you can find red carrots, they are THE best. If not, orange carrots will work too. Wash, peel and grate the carrots manually or in a food processor. Buying pre shredded bags is an easy way to eliminate one step of the process.
• Milk: The carrots cook in milk. Whole or reduced fat milk works. However, the reduced fat version will result in more liquid after cooking and will have to be boiled longer. Plant based milks work as well.
• Sugar: Granulated or fine sugar works. As we add the sugar in a hot mix, it melts quickly. While there are recipes with other sweeteners, I would recommend using sugar for this recipe.
• Ghee: An essential ingredient of so many Indian sweets, ghee is used to cook the carrots here. I have never tried making gajar halwa without ghee but coconut oil is a great start of Vegan halwa.
• Milk Powder: An easy way to make the recipe quickly is to use milk/mawa powder. The traditional recipe uses mawa but this works as an easy shortcut. Try and use mawa powder from the Indian store instead of the non-fat milk powder for a richer tasting dessert.
• Add-ins: Once you have the four basic ingredients, the rest are all add-ins. Whether it is cardamom powder, cardamom pods, saffron, raisins or nuts like cashews and pistachios; they all work to enhance the taste. A pinch of salt added to sweets always enhances them. These can be added in any combination or skipped based on how you like it.

See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.

How to make this recipe

1- Peel the 6-7 medium carrots and shred using a madoline or the thick side of the food processor. If the carrots have hardy centers, discard them. Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add 4 tablespoon ghee. 

2- Once the display reads hot and the ghee melts, add the shredded carrots.

3- Sauté for 2-3 minutes till the carrots start to absorb ghee.

4- Add ½ cup Whole Milk and mix well.

5- Close the lid and change the mode to pressure cook. Cook for 3 minutes and once done, release all the pressure immediately and open the lid.

6- Add ⅓ cup Sugar and ⅓ cup Milk Powder and mix well.

7- Add in the remaining ingredients.

• 4-5 Almonds
• 10-12 Raisins
• 4-5 Pistachios
• 4-5 Cashews
• ⅛ teaspoon Saffron
• 4-5 Cardamom pods
• ½ teaspoon Cardamon powder
• ⅛ teaspoon Salt

8- Mix everything well and change the mode back to sauté. There will be a lot of liquid so let it cook till the liquid is absorbed. Stir intermittently. Once the halwa is dry, turn the instant pot off and remove the steel pot out. This stops the cooking and helps to keep the halwa moist. Enjoy warm or chilled.

Expert Tips and Notes

• Getting the right carrots: Red or orange carrots are great in the recipe. The color will vary based on the type of carrots used. However, the best quality of carrots that you can get. Fresh, bright looking carrots without marks, spots and blemishes work the best.
• Grate or shred: Either grate the carrots using a thick blade grater or shred them using a food processor. Both these work fine as we need to cook them. It is definitely easier to shred them, especially if making a large batch. Shredded carrots are easy to use in the recipe too.
• Don't forget to stir: The initial step of sautéing carrots in ghee ic crucial. Sauté them well as the carrots will start to stick at the base. If this happens, the carrots tend to burn when cooked and give us the dreaded 'burn' warning. Moreover, keep stirring the halwa once cooked too so it does not start to stick to the base.
• Richness in the gajar halwa: Using full fat milk and mawa powder gives it the rich taste of Indian desserts. Do not skimp on them or ghee in the recipe. Together they all make the halwa creamy and super delicious.
• Add-ins: Nuts are great to add some texture and flavor in the recipe. Cashews, pistachios and raisins make the best add-ins. They can be sautéed in ghee before using too. Plus, some saffron and cardamom is perfect to add in the recipe. I like to add both cardamom powder and some pods in the recipe.
• Scaling: It is easy to scale the recipe up or down. The ingredients need to be doubled or halved for the recipe. However, the cook time remains same as the instant pot adjusts the time required to come to pressure.

Storage and Serving

In the cold winter months; gajar halwa is best warm. It makes a great sweet dish for any meal. Or serve it with some vanilla ice cream as a dessert.

However, the same dessert tastes great when refrigerated too. And serve it straight out of the refrigerator. This tastes heavenly too.

To store the halwa, simply pop into an airtight container and refrigerate. It stays well for 10-12 days. To serve it is great to warm it for a few seconds in the microwave. Or enjoy cold.

We can also freeze the halwa. Simply freeze for up to a month. Thaw and enjoy as desired.

Vegan Version

A Vegan version of gajar halwa is easy to make. We can do this by making these substitutions:

• Replace ghee with coconut or regular vegetable oil.
• The milk is easy to substitute with plant based milk like almond, soy or oat milk. The higher the fat content in it, the better the halwa.
• Finally, replace milk powder with almond meal. It gives the halwa a great taste and texture. I prefer the one that is made from blanched almonds as it is smoother.

Using a Pressure Cooker

The same recipe works in the pressure cooker too. To do so, sauté the carrots in ghee in the base of the pressure cooker.

Then pressure cook for 3 whistles and open the pressure cooker. Then add the milk powder, sugar, nuts, saffron and cardamom and cook till dry. Enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

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