Carrot halwa in pressure cooker, also popularly known as cooker gajar ka halwa, is the easiest and quickest way to make rich, melt-in-the-mouth halwa in just 20 minutes without khoya or mawa. Made with grated carrots, milk, sugar and ghee, it is a perfect dessert for festivals and celebrations!
Carrot halwa | Gajar ka halwa is the easiest and delicious sweet recipe that can be made jiffy. The best thing about this sweet is it takes very less ghee unlike other halwa recipes. I made this for my daughter’s birthday. This is one of her favourite sweets.
We love to have this dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Usually carrot halwa is prepared with khoya or condensed milk (milk maid). But I made it in a very simple way with milk and sugar using a pressure cooker. I followed my cookbook recipe for the preparation and it came out very well. If you want, you can cook the carrots in milk in low flame in an open pan which gives more taste. As I wanted to make it quick I followed the pressure cooker version.
For more rich taste , a paste of almonds and cashews can be added at the end..Try this easy version , you’ll love it for sure. Do check out my kadai version of carrot halwa with condensed milk. Let’s see how to make this easy carrot halwa in pressure cooker with step-by-step photos!
Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens
- Carrot Varieties: In the US and abroad, standard orange carrots from Costco, Trader Joe’s or local supermarkets work very well. If shopping at Indian grocery stores (Patel Brothers or Subzi Mandi) during the winter months, look for juicy Delhi red carrots for a deeper red color and naturally sweeter taste.
- Grating Tip: Use the coarse side of a box grater or a food processor grating disc. Very finely grated carrots turn mushy when pressure cooked, while medium-coarse grating retains that classic halwa texture.
- Stovetop Pressure Cooker vs. Instant Pot: For stovetop pressure cookers, cook on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 whistles. If using an Instant Pot, cook on ‘Pressure Cook / Manual’ (High Pressure) for 3 minutes, then do a quick pressure release after 5 minutes to prevent the milk from scorching at the bottom.
- Milk & Ghee Proportions: Stick to whole milk (vitamin D milk) for rich flavor. Even though 1/3 cup of milk looks minimal, carrots release plenty of natural moisture under pressure, ensuring the halwa cooks to perfection without turning runny.
Carrot Halwa in Pressure Cooker (Cooker Gajar Ka Halwa)
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2 cups Grated carrots (levelled, approx. 200 g / 7 oz)
- ⅓ cup Milk (approx. 80 ml / 2.7 fl oz)
- ½ cup Sugar (approx. 100 g / 3.5 oz)
- 2 tbsp Ghee (approx. 30 ml / 1 fl oz)
- 10 nos Cashews (few, roasted in ghee)
- 3 nos Elachi / Cardamom (powdered)
Instructions
- Wash and grate carrots using a big size grater and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a pressure cooker base and roast the cashews till golden brown. Remove the cashews alone leaving the ghee. Add the grated carrots and saute in ghee for 2-3 mins till the raw smell goes off.
- Then add the milk and pressure cook in high flame for 2-3 whistles. Do not worry that the milk is less. Its enough to cook carrots.
- Now add the sugar and mix well till sugar dissolves. Mixture will become liquid. Keep stirring in medium flame. When the mixture starts to thicken and leaves the sides of cooker, add the elachi powder.
- Now add the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee & roasted cashews, mix for a minute and serve. Make sure the mixture has some moisture content as halwa thickens after it cools down.
- It tastes the best when served warm with ice cream !!
Notes
- Don’t add more milk. Carrots will leave water when it gets cooked.
- You can use vanilla essence instead of cardamom powder.
- Instead of cashews, roasted badam or pista can also be used.
- This halwa can be stored in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Sharing is caring
Enjoy this delicious, colorful carrot halwa warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for Diwali or any celebration!
For more traditional festive ideas, check out my complete collection of South Indian Diwali Sweets and Snacks Recipes.
I love love this. super yummy
Carrot halwa looks so delicious and lovely!! Wonderful snaps! Do visit my space at- http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/
Looks yum …I am sure little princess must have enjoyed this
Am speechless!!! looks super delicious… wow i am so drooling!!
Sowmya
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our favourite dessert..looks divine with icecream
Wonderful combo with vanilla ice cream, wish raksha a wonderful birthday. nice clicks
The pressure-cooking method of making gajar ka halwa is totally new to me; I always made it the traditional way in pan reducing the milk.
But if this method helps less stirring, less hand pain, and less standing, less boredom … ah, bliss!
Yes this method surely helps u in all these :) Do try sometime :)
Delicious halwa n you have done justice to it
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Tempting …. Delicious…
Thanks for the tips chitra
Lovely clicks
Very useful post
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Looks yummy chitra !! First time here and you have a lovely blog :)
Hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday! Halwa looks delicious!
Delicious carrot halwa, bleated birthday wishes to your princes.
Belated b'day wishes to Rakhsha.Halwa looks yummyculous.Love to try ice cream halwa combo.
OMG ! One of my most favy dessert… Love to taste it with icecream ever and convey my wishes too… :)
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Looks superb! With ice cream its very tempting!
An all time favorite! Looks delicious!!
My birthday wishes to ur lil darling, icecream and halwa both makes me droollllllll..
delicious version bookmarked!!!
yummy bowl of carrot goodness…mm
Delicious Halwa.. Love the combo of halwa and icecream..
Thanks for the recipe. Tried it today. Though the texture was not as appealing as yours it tasted good:)
Thanks for trying Uthra :) Next time when u make please remove it when there is little moisture. So after it cools down, u will get the same texture as in the picture :)