Carrot Halwa or 'Gajar ka Halwa' can be made in an instant pot easily without much fuss. For folks who have not heard of Carrot Halwa, it is a delicious dessert made with carrots. It almost tastes like pudding and you can top it with fried dry fruits. I had originally posted a recipe for Carrot halwa using the stovetop method. This was how we generally made it at home, growing up.
Now with the instant pot taking over every kitchen, it has become a popular choice for making many dishes quickly. I was very happy with this no-fail recipe which I got from my neighbor and friend. It turned out perfect on the very first attempt. This dish is a great item to make for get-togethers and you can make it easily made without much monitoring. You will have to try it yourself to find out.
Why you'll love this Carrot Halwa recipe?
- Carrots are very healthy and are usually part of fresh salads and stir-fries. It is a great food to include in our diets. Desserts made with carrots can be a great way to get picky eaters like kids to eat.
- This does not need too much babysitting and is a one-pot dish and you can make it quickly.
- Carrot Halwa is wonderful for get-togethers and parties. Make it in advance and refrigerate it.
- Serve it hot or cold. If serving cold, have it with a dollop of ice cream
Ingredients for the carrot Halwa in instant pot
- Carrots grated - use a food processor to grate it if possible.
- Milk and Khoya (milk solids) or almond flour
- Sugar as needed
- Butter or clarified butter (ghee)
- Nuts and Dry fruits like cashews, almonds, pistachios, raisins
Substitutions and Variations
- This recipe uses butter, but you can also use clarified butter or ghee. I used butter and the quantity mentioned as is, but if you are calorie-conscious, you may want to reduce the butter or ghee used. If you are making and having this occasionally, I guess it's okay to indulge.
- Khoya (dried evaporated milk solids) used in this recipe can be made at home or purchased from Indian groceries. If you are unable to find it, you can substitute it with almond flour or dry milk powder. This is used in making many Indian sweet recipes like the mawa gujiya recipe, milk powder peda, ricotta cheese peda, fried modak, and many others.
How to make Carrot Halwa in Instant Pot?
It is so simple to make the Carrot Halwa in the Instant Pot. In my opinion, the majority of the effort to make this dish is to grate the carrots. Use a food processor if available, to grate and set it aside. This would help reduce the greater part of the work. Switch on and set the instant pot on saute mode. Add the butter and fry the dry fruits. Drain out and keep them aside. Saute the grated carrots for a couple of minutes. Next, add milk and sugar. Pressure cook on high mode for two minutes. Release pressure and add the khoya (grate it so it mixes well). Switch back to the saute mode and keep cooking to reduce the halwa, until the ghee or butter oozes out. Garnish with fried nuts and raisins.
What can be served with Carrot Halwa?
Carrot Halwa tastes out of the world, you can serve it as is. If you like to serve in combination with other desserts, the popular choices are vanilla ice cream or kulfi. They make a great pair. Serve it warm or cold.
A great sweet dish indeed that will impress your loved ones and guests. Garnish with any fried dry fruits like almonds, cashews, or pistachios for that crunchy bite.
Some other popular desserts that will also impress your guests are rasmalai made with an easy rasmalai recipe, atta suji halwa, coconut burfi, and Instant Gulab jamun. For milk-based desserts, do check the rose falooda ice cream or mango sago with coconut milk.
Carrot Halwa in Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 6 cups carrots grated
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 6 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup khoya grated (substitute with almond flour or dry milk powder)
- 4 tbsp nuts (almonds, cashews, pista, raisins) fried in ghee
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder (optional)
Instructions
- Switch on the sautee mode in the instant pot.
- Add butter and fry the dry fruits , drain and keep aside.
- In the remaining butter sautee the grated carrots for about 2 mins.
- Add milk and sugar .
- Close the lid and set to manual mode to pressure cook in high for 2 minutes.
- After natural pressure release , switch it back to saute mode .
- Add grated khoya , cardamom powder if using and keep cooking till the halwa reduces and oozes out butter or ghee.
- Garnish with fried dry fruits.
- Serve hot or cold with a big dollop of ice cream on the side.
Nutrition
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I had never heard of carrot halwa before but I gave it a try.
This instant pot recipe was what I needed with my busy mom’s schedule. It was delicious and the kids really enjoyed it.
This sounds making the carrot halfway really easy
Oooh Nisha, this dish looks amazing and I had never heard of it before. We like carrots in our home. It's the perfect way to blend tastiness and nutrition! Sneaky you are! 😉
I love your idea of pairing this with vanilla ice cream too. Mmm, that does sound like the perfect combination! I'm also a fan of crunchiness so adding nuts would be the topper for sure!
I love how you introduce me to new foods that I never would have considered. Thank you my friend! This is another treat of yours we might be making in the near future. 🙂 Shared! ♥ Sending love your way. I hope you & yours are well.
So nice to hear from you Holly. I am glad this recipe goes in to your to try out list , a great compliment for me :). I am absolutely sure you will love this delicious dish .Paired with ice cream, it is just awesome! Many Thanks for the share, truly appreciate it . We are doing fine and hope the same with you. Sending love , take care and stay safe.
Nisha, I too like carrot halwa and adding extra ingredients also makes it delicious!! 💜
Wonderful to hear that Suni, yes indeed the nuts makes it interesting and yum!
This looks good and healthy. I have never tried having carrots for dessert aside from cake so this is interesting. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Can't wait to try it.
Thank you so much and hope you enjoy it as well!
Ok this looks delicious! I haven't had Halwa in SOOOOO long! This was one of my favorite desserts at our local Indian Restaurant. Now I can make it at home, thanks!
Wonderful to hear that and your comment makes my day! I would love to hear how it turned out. Thank you so much Di!
Mmmm! I don't really know how it tastes but somehow I can feel the warmth and the flavors. Looks delicious!
Thank you so much, this truly tastes out of the world!
I enjoy carrots so I think I would like this one! Sharing to Pinterest now 🙂
Thank you so much Christy for the wonderful comment, glad you like it! Appreciate the share to Pinterest.
Thank you for sharing this, looks delicious and sounds quite healthy for being a dessert.😊
Thank you Anita, appreciate your wonderful comment! Yes, healthy dessert for sure.
I pinned it and I want to cook it badly. I have never tried anything like that but I am pretty sure it is right up my ally. We don't have khoya around so I'll use the substitute. What difference does it make to use almond flour or dry milk powder?
Thank you so much Lyosha, hope you enjoy making and having this dish! There will not be much of a difference with the substitutes used in place of khoya. So you can absolutely go ahead and try it out!
I don't think I've come across Carrot Halwa before, but it looks like a great easy meal! I have been wondering if I should invest in an instant pot, they're not as big in the UK though as we tend to have pretty small kitchens and nowhere to store them!
Yes indeed very easy to make this dish in the instant pot . It can be made on the stovetop as well but will need some stirring and babysitting. Instant pot does have a lot of options to make yogurt, ferment dough, etc and I have been using it for making various things. However, you are right it does occupy some space on the kitchen counter for sure!
My favourite 😊
Wonderful to know that , we love it too!
Very inviting colors! I want a taste! Good job.It looks healthy too eh,
Thank you so much, the color is very inviting indeed and a healthy dessert as well!
I've not heard of or come across Carrot Halwa till now. It looks really good and from what I've read it seems it'll have a sweet milky carrot taste. Worth trying.
Exactly right, it's worth trying most folks love it! Thanks for stopping by.
This is such an interesting dish because carrots can be an interesting choice for dessert. Carrot cake for example is yummy but I cannot think of anything else where carrots are used to make a sweet dish.
This sure is worth trying, and tastes awesome. Thank you for stopping by and the comments!