Instant pot Carrot Halwa - Pressure Cooker

5 from 9 votes

Carrot Halwa - Rich Indian Dessert made with fresh carrots, milk and sugar with generous amount of ghee added.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Keyword carrot, carrot halwa, instant pot, pressure cooker recipe, vegan

Diet Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 586kcal

Author Bhavana Patil

Take eight large carrots, peel the skin and grate them using a grater or food processor. I have used a thick shredder/grater attachment.

Sanitize the Instant Pot parts well before making the sweet dish.
Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add one tablespoon of ghee into the Pot.
Then add the shredded carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell of carrots disappears.
Add milk and mix well.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, do a QUICK RELEASE. Open the lid and turn the pot to SAUTE (HIGH) again.
Then add sugar, almond meal, cardamom powder, remaining ghee, and cook until all the milk has been reduced (evaporated). It approximately takes another 5-6 minutes.
Garnish with sliced almonds or pistachios. Serve gajar ka halwa hot, warm, or you can also serve it cold.

In a stovetop pressure cooker, add 1 tablespoon of ghee into the pot, once hot then add the shredded carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell of carrots disappears.
Add milk and mix well. Close the lid. Place a whistle and cook for 1 whistle on medium flame.
After pressure has released naturally, open the lid and add sugar, almond meal, cardamom powder, remaining ghee and cook until all the milk has been reduced (evaporated). It approximately takes another 5-6 minutes.
Garnish with sliced almonds or pistachios. Serve carrot halwa hot, warm or you can also serve it cold.

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT.

Can replace sugar with jaggery or brown sugar.
If you don't have cardamom, replace it with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
I highly recommend adding sugar after the pressure cooking, sometimes impurities in the sugar can curdle the milk and spoil.
To make the gajar halwa richer you can add condensed milk after the pressure cooking and adjust sugar quantity accordingly or add khoya/khova instead of almond meal.
If you are not adding almond flour or khoya you can increase the amount of milk while pressure cooking carrots.
Sanitize the Instant Pot steel insert, lid, and sealing ring before making sweet to avoid curdling of milk. I always keep an extra sealing ring for sweets separately.

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