Instant Pot Gajar Ka Halwa (Pakistan Carrot Halwa)
This classic Indian dessert has been my dad’s favorite sweet since childhood. He knows good halwa and he loves this recipe. My dad actually helped me come up with the method for making this delicious, rich halwa. He taught me a couple secrets to making this recipe: 1. Wait to add the ghee until after you pressure cook the carrots as that helps give the halwa that desired dark orange/red color. 2. You don’t need to use a lot of milk to make this dessert but don’t cut back on the ghee.
4.87 from 68 reviews
Ingredients

▢1 pound carrots grated/shredded (approx. 4 cups)*
▢½ cup whole milk or full-fat canned coconut milk if dairy-free/vegan
▢¼ cup water
▢½ cup sugar
▢4 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil if dairy-free/vegan
▢⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
▢Chopped pistachios or other nut garnish
Instructions

Add the carrots, milk and water to the pot. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 1 minute at high pressure.
Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
Press sauté and add the sugar. Stir for 6-7 minutes, or until most of the liquid has reduced. Then, add the ghee and stir-fry the carrots for another 6-7 minutes, or until the carrots become dry and the ghee separates from the mixture. The carrots should look dark orange/reddish in color.
Add the cardamom, mix well, then garnish with chopped nuts.
Notes
*Use a food processor to shred the carrots, it's fast and easy. If you use store-bought shredded carrots, the halwa will be a little thicker but that's absolutely fine too.
You can stir raisins or any type of nut into this halwa if you'd like!
I don’t use khoya when I make halwa, but if you’d like to use it, feel free to mix it in at the end when adding cardamom powder.
If you are making this for a dinner party, serve a small portion of halwa with a large scoop of ice cream.
If you want to make this dairy-free, you can use full-fat coconut milk and coconut oil instead of ghee (but it won’t taste quite as good).