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Gajar means carrot in Hindi and halwa is derived from Arabic and it means sweet. This gajar halwa or carrot pudding recipe is a decadent dessert that has a cult fan following.
It’s normally made with milk, nuts, sugar, khoya/mawa, or condensed milk. It is a bit tedious to make because it takes a long time to cook and you need to keep stirring it.
In India, it was considered a wintertime dessert because that’s the season for red carrots. But now it’s made all year round due to the easy availability of orange carrots.
She would obviously make it the traditional way - on a stovetop where she would spend a long time cooking it. I would sometimes help her grate the carrots.
But back then, I never realized how much effort went into making this lip-smacking dessert. I was only interested in eating it.
Today, when I have to make it for myself, I look for the easy way out but just cannot compromise with the taste. Thankfully, Instant Pot comes to the rescue.
It doesn’t require you to be standing in front of your stovetop to keep stirring it for a long time. The Instant Pot cooks the carrots well with reduced effort and time!
If you want some alternate cooking options, check out my Carrot Halwa Baklava recipe to see how to make it in the microwave. I love how easy and simple even this is.
You can also make it on a stovetop by following this Carrot Halwa Ice Cream recipe. So now, with the Instant pot version added, I have 3 ways to make the gajar ka halwa recipe!
I also have a Beetroot Halwa recipe on the blog that’s a take on this Indian carrot dessert! It’s very delicious to taste as well.
In this recipe, to save time, I have used pre-shredded carrots. Since this was being cooked in the Instant Pot, it cooked beautifully.
Non-dairy milk - Any vegan milk like almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk will work in this recipe. I have used oat milk here. You can also skip the milk and add water.
Sweetener - I have used jaggery powder in this gajar ka halwa recipe. You can also use white or brown sugar or stevia.
Almond meal or powder - This helps with the binding of the pudding and also gives it a nice grainy texture. Add milk powder or khoya if you are not vegan.
Almond slices and cardamom are added for more flavor. You can also add raisins and cashews. If adding these two, then fry them in vegan ghee for a few seconds and then add them to the halwa as garnish.
Ghee - Like most Indian desserts, this one too calls for ghee. I have used homemade vegan ghee here and it worked wonderfully. Ghee enhances the bright red color of the carrot pudding.
This vegan carrot recipe is made in an Instant Pot. I have used the Duo Nova 6-Quart and I love it!
Depending on the weather outside you can serve gajar ka halwa hot or cold. Some like to enjoy a hot bowl of gajar halwa with vanilla ice cream. To make it fancier, serve them as parfaits similar to Mango Cranachan. Alternate layers of halwa and whipped cream and serve chilled. This Instant pot gajar halwa is the perfect festive treat for Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, Navratri, Diwali, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. You can also serve this vegan carrot halwa for special occasions like birthdays, potlucks, anniversaries, weddings, baby showers, parties, get-togethers, events, date nights, etc. Leftover carrot pudding can be reused to create a totally new recipe like Carrot Halwa Baklava or Carrot Halwa Ice Cream! Add more jaggery powder if you want more sweetness. This recipe has just the right amount of sweetness. You can also add white or brown sugar or even Stevia. I got shredded carrots to save time. If after 30 minutes, they are still not fully cooked, cook them for another 3-5 minutes. You can always buy whole carrots and grate them. You can double or half the recipe but that will not change the pressure cooking time. Like this recipe? Please show your love by leaving a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to see more delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes and what I’m getting up to.
