Gajar ka halwa ( Carrot Halwa) is a classic Indian dessert made with carrots , milk and sugar , delicately flavored with cardamoms and finished with roasted nuts. It is particularly popular in winter as carrots are available in abundance in winters in India.
Traditionally gajar halwa is made by cooking grated carrots in lots of milk until the milk is absorbed completely. This is a time taking process which involves lots of stirring and continuous monitoring. Though this process gives amazing results , you can get same results in Instant pot with very less work and time. There is no grating required, which saves a lot of time and effort.
I also made Mawa/Khoya in microwave with milk powder and cream . It is very simple recipe and just takes few minutes. Mawa gives an amazing taste and richness to halwa.
Ingredients required :
For Halwa :
Carrots : Carrots are the main ingredient. If you can find red carrots , they are the best. If not, orange works too. You can add some beetroot for the traditional red color or 1/2 tsp of red food color works well.
Milk: Halwa is cooked in milk. I used full fat milk for the richer flavor. Reduced fat milk results in more liquid after cooking and will have to be boiled for longer.
Sugar: Granulated or fine sugar works.
Ghee: It imparts a wonderful flavor to the halwa.
Milk powder and cream: Instant mawa is made using milk powder and cream which gives mawa its richness and flavor . ( check the recipe below)
Flavorings : Cardamom powder and your choice of nuts .
For Mawa/Khoya :
Milk Powder : I used Nido brand . You can use any brand available. It is not the same as tea whiteners.
Double cream or Whipping cream : Double cream helps with the texture and consistency of the mawa. You can use double cream or whipping cream . I used double cream.
Gajar Halwa ( Instant Pot method )
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
For Mawa/Khoya
- 2 Cups Milk Powder
- 1+¼ Cup Double cream
For Halwa
- 1 Cup Full fat Milk
- ½ Cup heavy cream
- 1 Kg Carrots Peeled and cut in chunks
- ¼ cup ghee
- 1½+¼ cup sugar
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 pinch nutmeg powder
- 2 tbsp almonds sliced
- 2 tbsp raisins (kishmish)
- 1 cup mawa/khoya
Instructions
For Mawa/Khoya
- In a big microwave safe bowl, combine 2 cupa milk powder and 1 cup double cream and mix. If it looks dry add 1/4 cup cream more. Mix well
- Place it in microwave and heat for 1 minute . Take it out and mix nicely.
- Microwave again for 1 minute. Remove and mix nicely. Repeat the process 1 more time. If it looks wet repeat the process 1 more time.
- By now, the mixture will start forming clumps and it will have lost the moisture.
- Microwave for 30 seconds for 2-3 times until it starts sizzling , mixing well in between each time.
- It is ready when most of the moisture is gone and khoya has dry consistency . It will get dry as it cools . Keep it aside .
For Halwa
- First, peel the carrots and cut them in big chunks and slice them in half vertically . If the carrots have thick yellow center, remove it and discard.
- In the Instant pot, add chopped carrots, 1 cup milk, ½ cup heavy cream and 1½ cup sugar. Mix everything.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 12 minutes. Make sure instant pot is in sealing. After 12 minutes press cancel and let the pressure release naturally for 2 minutes and then do a quick pressure release by moving the pressure valve from sealing to venting position.
- Open the lid and give everything a mix. The halwa will look very watery at this stage. Switch on the saute mode and mash the carrots with a potato masher. Keep mashing and stirring till the liquid is absorbed and the carrots are completely mashed.
- Once the liquid is absorbed, press cancel.
- Heat ¼ cup ghee in a wide non stick wok/kadhai. Fry sliced almonds and raisins(kishmish) for few seconds until almonds are golden. Next, add mashed carrots and mix in the ghee and nuts. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add mawa and check if more sugar is required . Add ¼ cup sugar if required and at this stage you can add ½ tsp of red food color if your carrots are orange. This step is completely optional and it is just to give the halwa a traditional red color.
- Add 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder and a pinch of nutmeg. You can also add 1 tbsp ghee at this stage for richer flavor. Switch off the flame.
- Garnish with more nuts and serve warm.
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