Carrot halwa or gajar halwa recipe – A slow cooked traditional Indian halwa or pudding made by simmering carrots in milk. Carrot halwa is popularly known as gajar ka halwa, gajrela or gajar halwa. It makes its presence in most special occasions like festivals, celebrations and parties. Carrot halwa is one of the classic Indian sweets that would not fail to impress anyone.
Most Indian households make this gajar halwa during the winters as carrots are in full season. In north India it is made with Delhi gajar.
In many other parts of India, Delhi gajar is not available so it is made with regular carrots.
Here in Singapore we do get the fresh Delhi gajar in few Indian stores during the season. Whenever I find them I never fail to buy as they are much more flavorful than the regular ones.
Gulab jamun, Jalebi, Rasgulla & Kaju katli are some of the popular Sweets from Indian cuisine.
If you are new to Indian cuisine, then read on to know more
What is carrot halwa?
Carrot halwa is a Indian pudding made with fresh carrots, milk, sugar, ghee & nuts. It is made by simmering grated carrots in full fat milk & then sweetened with sugar.
Carrot halwa is flavored with cardamom powder & garnished with chopped nuts.
Traditionally carrot halwa was made only with full fat milk and no processed ingredients like condensed milk, evaporated milk or khoya was used.
3 different ways to make gajar halwa
There are 3 different ways of making carrot halwa. I have shared all the method in this post.
- Traditional method using whole milk. I have shared this method in the step by step photos & recipe card.
- Carrot halwa using condensed milk – For detailed post you can check this gajar ka halwa using condensed milk. However I have also included this method in the notes. This method takes just about 15 mins.
- A rich version using khoya. I follow this method during festive season when I have some surplus khoya left & prefer to use up. This method reduce the cook time by 50% since the amount of milk used is less. I have shared this in the recipe card as method 3.
Tips to make best carrot halwa
- Choice of carrots: Always use fresh, tender and young carrots that are less fibrous. If needed taste them before cooking. Carrots that are too old or mature are more fibrous & have a different flavour & texture which do not go well for the halwa.
Young carrots are sweeter in flavour & yield a mouth melting carrot halwa. If you cannot find delhi gajar you can use the regular carrots. - Milk: Use full fat or whole milk to get a tasty carrot halwa. For a low fat version just reduce the amount of milk in the recipe or use low fat milk. You can also skip or reduce the amount of ghee.
If you are a vegan you can make this halwa with coconut or almond milk. - Grating carrots: Grate the carrots with a hand held grater or food processor. I always use a food processor. You can grate to thick or thin shreds depending on how you like your carrot halwa to be. My kids like them to be very fine as the halwa just melts off in the mouth. But for this post I have used larger gratings.
- Sautéing carrots: My mom makes the carrot halwa by first sautéing the grated carrot in ghee for 5 mins. Then pouring the milk. However I do not do this just to save time. Adding ghee at a later time, once the halwa is cooked gives a more intense flavour. So you can do either ways.
- Cooking: Be cautious & do not leave the carrot halwa on the stove unattended as the milk will get scorched and burnt. You will need to constantly stir the gajar halwa.
Instant pot carrot halwa
I have been using instant pot for quite some time for all my cooking. Making carrot halwa in an instant pot is a breeze as you don’t need to stir the pudding like we do for the traditional method. Instant pot needs lesser liquids to cook the foods so I use only a cup of milk for 500 grams of carrot.
I have included the instructions below for IP.
More Halwa recipes
Rava kesari
Moong dal halwa
Badam halwa
Lauki ka halwa
Carrot halwa recipe
Carrot halwa recipe | Gajar ka halwa | How to make carrot halwa
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for carrot halwa
- ½ kg carrot or gajar(500 grams) (prefer young carrots)
- 2 cups milk or (1 cup for Instant pot)
- ½ cup sugar (+ 2 tbsp optional) (prefer organic)
- 4 cardamom pods or elachi or (skinned and powdered)
- 2 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
optional ingredients for gajar halwa
- 15 mixed nuts pista, cashew & almonds
- 2 tablespoons raisins optional
How to make the recipe
Preparation for carrot halwa recipe
- Wash carrots under running water & peel them.
- Grate them in a food processor or with a hand grater.
- Dry roast nuts on a low heat until crunchy, cool & chop them.
- Alternately chop the nuts first & fry them in 1 tbsp ghee until slightly golden.
- Then add raisins & fry until they plump up. Remove to a plate.
How to make carrot halwa
- Next bring milk to a boil in a heavy bottom pot or deep pan.
- Add grated carrots and cook on a medium heat stirring often.
- Do not leave the pot unattended as the milk will get scorched.
- When the milk has completely evaporated add sugar and stir well.
- Sugar will release lot of moisture & will make the entire carrot halwa gooey.
- Cook until half the moisture evaporates, then stir in the ghee.
- Saute the carrot halwa well in ghee until the moisture evaporates completely.
- When it is done gajar halwa turns aromatic & thickens.
- Sprinkle the cardamom powder. If you like you can add grated khoya at this stage.
- Stir and cook for just 2 to 3 mins until the khoya blends well.
- Garnish carrot halwa with nuts. Serve warm or chilled with Ice cream.
Instant pot gajar halwa
- Press the saute button and add 1 tbsp ghee.
- When it is hot fry the nuts until light golden.
- Then add in raisins if using. When they plump up remove to a plate.
- Then add in the carrots & saute for 2 to 3 mins stirring well.
- Pour 1 cup milk and mix well.
- Secure the instant pot lid.
- Press the pressure cook button & set the timing to 5 mins.
- Set the steam release handle to sealing.
- When the instant pot beeps and finishes, place a kitchen towel & do a manual pressure release carefully.
- Stir in the sugar, ghee & cardamom powder.
- Press the saute button & saute until the milk evaporates completely.
- Garnish gajar halwa with chopped nuts & raisins.
Video
Method 2 – carrot halwa using condensed milk
This recipe needs half of a 400 grams condensed milk tin. It comes upto half cup plus 2 tbsps.NUTRITION
Notes
Preparation
1. Wash carrots thoroughly under running water. Peel and grate them. A food processor quickens the process of grating. So if you own one, you can use it.
2. Make sure you use a heavy bottom large pot or pan for this recipe as it helps to prevent the halwa from sticking to the bottom and burning. However a pressure cooker too works well.
On a low heat dry roast nuts until crunchy for garnishing. A few pistachios, cashews and almonds would do great. You can also fry them in ghee. But dry roasting eases the chopping work. Cool and chop them.
3. Next to the same pan, pour milk and begin to heat it.
How to make carrot halwa
4. Add grated carrots. Another method is to saute the carrots in ghee until a nice aroma comes out then pour milk to it.
5. Stir and cook on a medium flame. Keep stirring to prevent burning at the bottom. Since I used a heavy bottom pan, I didn’t have to stir very often. But I suggest consistently keep checking otherwise the halwa will stick at the bottom.
6. You will have be cautious always towards the end. Especially when the milk has almost evaporated.
7. Cook until the milk completely evaporates.
8. Next add sugar and stir.
9. Sugar melts and carrot halwa turns gooey once again. Stir and cook. When the moisture is half evaporated, add ghee and stir well.
10. Stir and cook until the halwa thickens. Just before you finish off, add cardamom powder.
Finally garnish carrot halwa with nuts. Serve chilled or warm.
Tanusree says
Well, today I have prepared gajar ka halwa too along with pizza. I used khova and fried the carrot in the beginning like your mom as I had the leftover kadai after making ghee yesterday. Added a bit of residue of ghee too. Taste was heavenly.
Thanks again for encouraging us to keep on cooking even in our hectic schedule.
swasthi says
Hey Tanu!
You are welcome. So glad to know your gajar halwa turned out good. Loved your smart way of using the ghee kadai.
🙂
Thank you so much!
Vijay V says
Nicely written and very detailed.
swasthi says
Thank you
Kelly says
I will be trying the carrot halwa in IP. I will be using coconut milk. I have made this before on stove top not in IP. Do I need to alter the recipe or the timing? TIA
swasthi says
Hi Kelly,
I haven’t made this anytime in IP with coconut milk. But it should work the same way.To be safe you can cook in the porridge mode. Hope this helps.
Anitha says
Your recipes are so easy to follow and yummy.swasthi can i use jaggery instead of sugar for this recipe if yes how.thank you
swasthi says
Hi Anitha
You are welcome. Thank you so much. Yes you can use jaggery but the taste will be completely different. Grated Jaggery can be added towards the end after the milk has absorbed. Just turn off the stove and then add the jaggery. Mix and leave it on the burner.It willl melt completely. I usually make a thick jaggery syrup first. Cool it completely and then just mix it in the carrot halwa towards the end. This tastes good.
Gina says
Hi Swasthi,
I made a huge batch of this amazing carrot halwa last night. It turned out very delicious and my friends said it was the best in the dinner menu. However I ended up with a lot of moisture in the instant pot and had to evaporate it for some time. Do you think I can reduce the milk next time? Will it alter the taste?. This is on my favorite recipe list. Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Gina,
Great! Glad your friends liked the carrot halwa. I wouldn’t suggest lesser milk as the IP may throw a burn notice. My original recipe for stove top uses double the milk I mentioned for IP. So it will surely not make the halwa rich and will alter the taste. I feel the last part of evaporating the milk in the instant pot adds a lot of flavor and taste to the carrot halwa. Hope this helps. Thanks for trying.
Ally says
Good evening, will be trying out your recipe tomorrow, will let you know of the outcome. Thanks for the recipe.
sari says
Hey Swasthi,
I am an ardent fan of your blog and have been following your recipes for 2 years now. I have made this carrot halwa before a few times and turns out awesome. How can I make this to a gajar burfi? Can i make use of jaggery? Any thoughts appreciated. Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Sari,
You are welcome. thanks for trying the recipes. Yes you can make a carrot burfi with some alterations. I did try a few times and failed terribly as the carrot needs to be cooked for much longer than it is done for this halwa. Iam not sure if jaggery will taste good with carrot.You can check this gajar kalakand. It turns out like burfi but is soft set. Hope this helps.
Amina says
Thank you for your time and help. I love the way you have prepared all the food,
swasthi says
Welcome Amina
Thank you so much
Shrey says
Thanks mam for such an recipe. It turned out awesome.
Hend says
Hello..
I tried your recipe yesterday, it was peeeeeerfct, it was my first time to make Gajar ka halwa, and in Dubai it’s very rare to find the sweet red carrots, when I saw them yesterday, I bought them and searched for a recipe. I made 1 kg and I put 1 cup of Sugar based on one comments I read. It was perfect.
Thank you so much
swasthi says
Hi Hend
You are welcome. So glad to know gajar ka halwa turned out good. Thanks for the mention about sugar. I have added a note on it.
🙂
Maria says
I love all the receps.
Deepthi says
Hi Swasthi,
This was one of the very first recipes i tried from your site.. It came out very very well and everyone really liked it a lot… Thank you for the detailed recipe…
I needed a suggestion,, did you try vegan version of this, actually the guests who are coming over this time are vegan,I wanted to know if I can just replace the milk with coconut milk in the recipe…Or if I need to make any further modifications
Thanks,
Deepthi
swasthi says
Hi Deepthi,
You are welcome. I did try with almond milk earlier. It turns out good. You can try with 1/3 cup almonds soaked very well for 4 hours. Blend to a very very smooth paste first and then add water and make it 2 cups. I haven’t tried with coconut milk. Thanks for trying the recipes. Happy Diwali.
🙂
Deepthi says
Thank you very much for your prompt response Swasthi..I didn’t have almonds then, only had coconut milk so took the risk.. It came out well luckily 😊… Everyone liked it very much.. Thank you again for the recipe
Megha says
Hi Swasthi. Hope you are doing fine. I made carrot halwa today and it turned out amazing. I also tried your butter chicken recipe and it was tasty as well. Couldn’t post the comment there so posting it here. I’ll be definitely trying other recipes in future. Lots of love .
swasthi says
Hi Megha,
I am doing good. Thanks for asking. Happy to know halwa and butter chicken turned out good. Thank you very much for the comment. Yes do try more recipes.
🙂
Chan says
The recipe is awesome – I tried at home and it turned out really tasty. Thanks 🙂
swasthi says
Welcome Chan