Have you tried making Carrot Halwa in Instant Pot? It simplifies the traditional carrot halwa using the stovetop method, offering a fuss-free and reliable way to prepare this crowd-pleasing dessert. Also known as Gajar Halwa, this classic sweet is made from carrots and gently cooked into a rich, pudding-like treat, finished with fragrant ghee and fried dry fruits.
Why you'll love this Carrot Halwa recipe?
- Carrots are packed with all the good stuff and are a great addition to everyday meals. Turning them into a dessert is a delicious way to get picky eaters, especially kids, to enjoy them too.
- Easy and hands-off: This is a true one-pot recipe that needs very little babysitting, making it quick and stress-free to prepare.
- Perfect for entertaining: Carrot Halwa is a crowd favorite for parties and get-togethers. You can easily make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until needed. A great sweet dish indeed that will impress your loved ones and guests.
- Versatile serving options: Enjoy it warm or chilled. If serving cold, top it with a generous scoop of ice cream for an extra-special treat.
Ingredients for the carrot Halwa in instant pot
- Carrots, grated - use a food processor to grate them 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?
Making Carrot Halwa in the Instant Pot is incredibly simple and mostly hands-off. Honestly, the most time-consuming part is grating the carrots.
Start by setting the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add butter or ghee and fry the dry fruits until golden; remove and set them aside. Add the grated carrots and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Step 1: Sauté nuts in ghee.
- Step 2: Add grated carrots and continue the sauté.
Next, stir in the milk and sugar, then pressure cook on high for 2 minutes. Once done, release the pressure.
- Step 3: Add milk and sugar.
- Step 4: Pressure cook in manual mode for 2 minutes. Release pressure when done.
Switch back to sauté mode and add the grated khoya so it blends in smoothly. Cook the halwa, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and the ghee or butter begins to ooze out.
- Step 5: Switch back to saute mode and add grated khoya and continue cooking.
- Step 6: Cook until it thickens and ghee or butter oozes out.
Finish by garnishing with the fried nuts and raisins, and your rich, flavorful Carrot Halwa is ready to serve.
- Step 7: Add the fried nuts
- Step 8: Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy.
Useful Tips
- The most time-consuming part of the recipe is grating the carrots. Using a food processor makes this step quick and effortless, so be sure to use one.
- Carrot Halwa tastes out of this 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.
- Garnish with any fried dry fruits like almonds, cashews, or pistachios for that crunchy bite.
- If you don't have khoya on hand, you can easily substitute it with almond flour or dry milk powder. This addition enhances the richness and creaminess of the dessert without compromising on flavor.
Some other popular desserts that will also impress your guests are rasmalai made with an easy rasmalai recipe, atta suji halwa, crispy karanji recipe, coconut burfi, and Instant Gulab jamun. For milk-based desserts, do check the rose falooda ice cream or mango sago with coconut milk. This easy mini cheesecake recipe also makes the best mini cheesecakes.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Carrot Halwa in Instant Pot or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
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.
Video
Notes
- The most time-consuming part of the recipe is grating the carrots. Using a food processor makes this step quick and effortless, so be sure to use one.
- Carrot Halwa tastes out of this 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.
- Garnish with any fried dry fruits like almonds, cashews, or pistachios for that crunchy bite.
- If you don't have khoya on hand, you can easily substitute it with almond flour or dry milk powder. This addition enhances the richness and creaminess of the dessert without compromising on flavor.
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!