Instant Pot Gajar Halwa

-

 Thanks to my dependable Vegetable chopper & the super innovative Instant Pot, making Gajar Halwa is literally "Halwa" (Indian street language for something super easy & silly). 

It was an Odiya festival. Now, I have forgotten which exact festival it was but I do remember is that we were asked to make "bhoga" for "thakura" and something sweet should be made for "Thakura". Also, it was a weekend & I was in the mood for wearing saree (it being a festival & all). So there I was draped in a yellow saree which my M.I.L gave me the first time I went to her home after the wedding, with my small food chopper & about 2 Lbs of carrots, all ready to make the famous Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Porridge)

What I used

  • 2 Lbs Carrots 
    • Cleaned --> Peeled --> Chopped into small pieces --> Chopped further in the food chopper into very very fine (almost created) texture
  • 4 - 5 tbsp Ghee
  • 1/4 cups halved cashews
  • 1/4 cups raisins
  • 4 cardamoms crushed in the mortar-pestle
  • 1/3 cup Sugar (I used very less, please adjust per your taste)
  • Around 500 ml full fat milk
  • My 6Qt. Instant Pot
  • Wooden Spatula
Process
  • Plug in the instant pot & set it on Saute' mode. While that heats up, keep everything ready because this process will go really fast & quick. :) 
  • Add ghee --> Fry the cashews & raisins
  • Once dry fruits are fried, add the carrots & crushed cardamoms & give everything a good mix
  • Next goes in the milk & sugar --> Give it all a good mix
  • Set the IP to Pressure Cook for 8 minutes (For 2 Lbs carrots this was enough - Adjust if you think it is not enough but I think 8 minutes is a minimum needed) with Vent in sealing mode.
  • Let the pressure naturally release for 8 more minutes & then let the rest of the pressure out manually (By turning the vent to venting)
  • Open the IP lid & give everything a good mix. If the mixture is too dry, add some more milk & saute' on High for 5 minutes. 
  • Serve WARM. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten Free Almond Flour Mango Cake

-
Image
 Here's my take on the Gluten Free mango Cake.... There's not a story behind it other than the fact that I am trying to reduce sugar & gluten in my diet due to the health reasons & this cake gave me everything that I need for those late evening sweet cravings without feeling guilty or sad or having to plan extra time on the treadmill the next day.  This cake is made from almond flour so it's on the denser side & not entirely fluffy BUT it is soft & makes for an awesome tea time accompaniment.  Here's what I used... Wet ingredients 1 cup mango puree 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or butter) Dry ingredients 2.5 cups of Almond flour 2 tsp baking powder Process First mix all the wet ingredients in a clean bowl using a wire whisk Then add in the baking powder & almond flour Mix nicely using a spatula - DO NOT USE Wire whisk  Transfer the contents to a greased 10 inch round cake tin Bake until tooth-pick comes out clean on 325 F for ab
Read more

Chicken Patra Poda

-
Image
 Since the last few days, I have been binge watching YouTube videos of some Odiya Vloggers in the US. There are some really entertaining folks who sing & dance & go about their lives while sharing ups & downs with us (their subscribers). Sometimes they get too personal but it's the age of Social Media so I guess that is perfectly fine if the creator is OK with that. These folks that I watch are mostly girls ..Actually they are all girls.. hmm.. time for me to expand the scope a bit?? may be !!.  Anyways, one of the girls, lives in the eastern part of US & has a HUGE Odiya friends circle who meet almost every week for a party or picnic or potluck and she makes these yummy (almost) contemporary style Odiya food recipes that it makes me want to go back to the east coast & make her my sister. Yes, I used to live there & the first chance I got I left because of the harsh winters. I just could not bear the mere thought of getting up at 7am in the morning & spe
Read more

Masala Atta Chakuli

-
Image
"Chakuli" in Odisha comes in mainly three forms: Regular Chakuli - Made with Dosa batter (Rice + Urad Daal) -  Maida Chakuli - Made with Maida a.k.a Refined All-purpose flour And finally Atta chakuli - Made with "Atta" a.k.a Whole wheat flour Atta Chakuli is usually a form of sweet pancake in Odisha. It is a very good breakfast usually made on week days where making roti/paratha is either boring or time consuming. Growing up, I was not a fan of the dish though because it is sweet & as a kid I did not have a sweet tooth. I still don't & I think I am blessed because sugar kills (like literally).  This recipe was a result of three things... - I was sick of eating rice & poha (basically gluten-free) and wanted something different but should have tons of veggies 🍅 🌽 🌶  - I wanted something that is NOT sweet - I did not want to make roti (I am not very good at it & the Rotimatic is resting in the garage) Because of the above mentioned reasons, I sta
Read more