Gajar ka Halwa in a pressure cooker made with grated carrots, sugar, ghee, and condensed milk. This easy Indian dessert is ready within 30 minutes.

Love to make this instant gajar ka halwa during winters. This is the season when red and juicy carrots are available. A lot of childhood memories are related to this recipe.
What is Gajar Halwa?
Gajar is the “Hindi” name for “Carrot” & Halwa is an “Arabic” word that means “Sweet”. So, it is basically a sweet pudding made with carrots. It is also known as Carrot Halwa.
Carrot Halwa is made by cooking grated carrots in milk. Further, sugar, nuts & ghee are added and cooked until it becomes thick.
Finally, cardamom powder is added to flavor the carrot halwa. It is then garnished with almonds, cashews & pistachios.
Why you need this recipe
- Quick and easy recipe
- Easy to customise as per the ingredients available. Check out the ingredients list below.
- Time saving – Traditional carrot halwa is made by sauteing the carot and milk until carrots are cooked and the milk thickens. It takes almost 1-2 hours to cook and even more if you cooking in larger quantity. You can save the cooking time by pressure cooking carrot halwa without compromising on taste.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Carrot – Red and juicy carrots are the best choice for making this sweet. Red color carrots are naturally sweet.
- Milk – Add full fat milk for great flavor.
- Sugar – You can substitute it with jaggery powder.
- Ghee – Also known as clarified butter. It gives richness to the halwa and enhances the flavor.
- Condensed milk – It is used to enhance the richness and adds creaminess to gajar halwa. You can susbtitute it with Khoya or milk powder.
- Cardamom powder – It flavors the halwa. Most of the Indian desserts are incomplete without this flavor.
Tips to make Best Gajar Halwa
- Use red color tender carrots for making the halwa.
- You can make this halwa without Ghee. But ghee makes the Halwa rich & enhances the flavor of Halwa.
- Use full-fat milk for making it. You can use toned milk to make it. But to increase the richness you have to use either condensed milk, Khoya or milk powder.
- Adding condensed milk (or Khoya/Mawa) for making carrot halwa is optional. But I will recommend adding either condensed milk or Khoya to enhance the richness of Gajar Halwa.
FAQs
Yes, you can make gajar halwa without using condensed milk. You can follow the traditional method of making gajar halwa.
You have to use 1 liter of full-fat milk for 1 kg of carrots. Mix the grated carrots & milk together & cook it until the carrots are cooked (soft) & half of the milk is reduced. Stir at regular intervals to avoid burning the halwa. Then add sugar & cook until all the moisture evaporates. Finally, add ghee, nuts & cardamom powder & simmer for 5 minutes. Gajar ka Halwa without condensed milk is ready.
Condensed milk is added to reduce the cooking time of Carrot Halwa. You do not have to wait & stir continuously until milk reduces.
Use red, juicy & tender carrots for making the halwa. These carrots have less fiber & are sweet in taste.
Red color carrots are mostly available during the winter season here. If carrots are tender then cooking time reduces & also they enhance the flavor of gajar Halwa.
You can also find orange color carrots in the market but they are not the right choice for making Halwa. They have more fiber & are less sweet compared to red color carrots. You can make Halwa with it but it will not taste good.
Other popular Indian dessert recipes
- Moong dal ladoo
- Rava ladoo
- Besan ladoo
- Besan Burfi
- Peanut ladoo
- Suji/Semolina Gulab Jamun
- Til/Sesame seeds ladoo
How to make Gajar ka Halwa in Pressure Cooker
Preparations
- Wash the carrots under tap water & clean them. Remove the top & tip of the carrots.
- Gently scrub it or peel it.
- Grate all the carrots & keep it aside.
- Slice the almonds & pistachios. Chop the cashews. Keep it aside.
Making Carrot Halwa
- Heat a pressure cooker over low flame. Add 2 tsp clarified butter/ghee.
- Fry raisins. Once it puffs up, take it out.
- Next, fry almonds until golden. Keep it aside.
- Fry cashews until golden. Keep it aside.
- Add 2 tsp ghee/clarified butter in the cooker & add grated carrots in it.
- On high flame, saute for 3-4 minutes until raw smell from carrot leaves.
- Add milk & mix it well.
- Cover the lid of the cooker & cook for 3 whistles.
- After 3 whistles, let the pressure settle down completely.
- Open the lid & stir it once.
- Next on high flame add condensed milk and stir to combine. Taste and add sugar as per taste. Here, I have added 1/2 cup of sugar.
- Stir it & cook until milk evaporates. It will take 10-15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, the mixture will reduce.
- Add the raisins, almonds & cashews (reserve some for garnish), ghee & cardamom powder.
- Now simmer the flame & cook for 5 minutes.
- Instant Gajar Halwa in pressure cooker is ready.
- Garnish it with chopped almonds, cashews, pistachios & raisins.
- Serve hot & enjoy!
Serving suggestions
- Serve it as a dessert after lunch or dinner.
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Instant Carrot Halwa recipe
Gajar ka Halwa in Pressure cooker (Carrot Halwa)
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 kg carrot select red & juicy carrots
- 4 tbsp clarified butter/ghee, divided
- 3 tbsp raisins (Kismish)
- 10 almonds, chopped sliced, (Badam)
- 10 cashews, chopped (Kaju)
- 10 pistachios, chopped sliced, (Pista)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tin condensed milk
- 1/2 cup sugar (reduce the quantity, if you prefer less sweet)
- ½ tsp cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
Instructions
Preparations to be done.
- Wash the carrots under tap water & clean them. Remove the top & tip of the carrots.
- Gently scrub it or peel it.
- Grate all the carrots & keep them aside.
- Slice the almonds & pistachios. Chop the cashews. Keep it aside.
Making Carrot Halwa
- Heat a pressure cooker over low flame. Add 2 tsp clarified butter/ghee.
- Fry raisins. Once it starts to puffs up, take it out. Keep it aside on a plate.
- Next, fry almonds until golden. Keep it aside on the plate.
- Fry cashews until golden. Keep it aside on the plate.
- Add 2 tsp ghee/clarified butter in the cooker & add grated carrots in it.
- On high flame, saute for 3-4 minutes until raw smell from carrot leaves.
- Add milk & mix it well.
- Cover the lid of the cooker & cook for 3 whistles.
- After 3 whistles, let the pressure settle down completely.
- Open the lid & stir it once.
- Next on high heat, add condensed milk, stir to combine. Taste and add sugar as per your liking. I added 1/2 cup of sugar.
- Stir it continuously & cook until milk evaporates. It willt ake 10-15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, the mixture will reduce.
- Add the raisins, almonds & cashews (reserve some for garnish), ghee & cardamom powder.
- Now simmer the heat & cook for 5 minutes.
- Gajar Halwa is ready.
- Garnish halwa with chopped almonds, cashews, pistachios & raisins.
- Serve hot & enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For pressure cooking carrots 1/2 cup milk is enough. Tender red carrots are juicy & will cook easily. If you are using carrots that are not juicy or have more fiber in them then increase the quantity of milk. (i.e. use 1 cup of milk for 1 kg carrots).
- Condensed milk is already sweet. I have a sweet tooth so after adding condensed milk; I have added ½ cup sugar to the halwa. You can reduce the quantity of sugar if you prefer less sweet.
- Stir the Halwa continuously after adding condensed milk & sugar.
- The grating of carrots is time-consuming. You can use a food processor to save time.
- You can store it in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator but it is advised to consume milk & milk products within 48 hours.
Amazing recipe !