Instant Pot Gajar Halwa

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5 from 1 vote

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 greatly on the taste and flavor.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 212kcal

Author: Smruti

Ingredients

6-7 medium Red Carrots
½ cup Whole Milk
⅓ cup Sugar
⅓ cup Milk Powder (Mawa Powder)
4-5 Almonds
4-5 Pistachios
4-5 Cashews
10-12 Raisins
⅛ teaspoon Saffron
4-5 Cardamom pods
½ teaspoon Cardamon powder
⅛ teaspoon Salt
4 tablespoon Ghee

Instructions

Peel the carrots and shred using a madoline or the thick side of the food processor. If the carrots have hardy centers, discard them.
6-7 medium Red Carrots
Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add ghee.
4 tablespoon Ghee
Once the display reads hot and the ghee melts, add the shredded carrots. Sauté for 2-3 minutes till the carrots start to absorb ghee.
Add milk and mix well.
½ cup Whole Milk
Close the lid and change the mode to pressure cook. Cook for 3 minutes and once the cooking is done, release all the pressure manually. Open the lid.
Add sugar and milk powder. Mix well.
⅓ cup Sugar, ⅓ cup Milk Powder
Then add all the add-ins and mix them well.
4-5 Almonds, 4-5 Pistachios, 4-5 Cashews, 10-12 Raisins, ⅛ teaspoon Saffron, 4-5 Cardamom pods, ½ teaspoon Cardamon powder, ⅛ teaspoon Salt
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.

Video

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.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates using an automated calculator. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition