Remember that I mentioned about the first post I wanted to do in 2025 in this chicken biriyani post? Well, it was meant to be this Instant Pot Gajar Ka Halwa. After a long break, I wanted to start off with something sweet, but nothing went my way, Ramadan came in quickly and I ended up doing the biriyani post. I had started that post by writing down where I had been over the past few months – starting from quitting work in September last year after hardly working for 10 months (hmm… I really don’t want to dwell around it… :D), to then planning a ladies only Umrah trip with two friends of mine in November, which was absolutely amazing SubhanAllah. It went way better than we had expected. After that, we undertook a drive to Qatar during the National Day holidays in December, just me, my bestie and my two girls. After doing Salalah in 2023 July, the Qatar trip was a cakewalk – a drive with no hiccups and a very relaxing trip. The capital of Qatar, even though magnificent, has this very slow pace that we absolutely loved.

Then end of December, I had to go home to attend two weddings on HD’s side. I couldn’t take the girls along because of their school schedules. HD joined in later in January for the second wedding, so I had a good 26 days of lots of eating, running around, dressing up and generally just smiling. Then, with the blink of an eye, Ramadan came and went. It was just too fast, so did Eid vanish. Last week, we went on a family Umrah trip, that I was really yearning for and Alhamdulillah, I am so grateful to the Almighty for making it happen in the most beautiful way. It is a part of my beautiful memories that I will cherish for life. I am so looking forward to the rest of the year, and sincerely hoping to make it one of the best years in many ways, Bi’iznillah…

After getting the Nutripot, the first dish I cooked was the kichadi, and thankfully it turned out well. So then my next plan was to try my favorite dessert Gajar ka Halwa – just that on the blog, the chicken biriyani came running to take the first place. I am not a fan of raw carrots but I love it in my umma’s cake version and as halwa. I have already shared many versions including this pressure cooker version, which is my favorite way of cooking it. Instant Pot is a glamourized pressure cooker with buttons on it and with absolutely no noise. Each time I cook something, I am constantly looking into it to see if it is actually working. As an Indian who owns so many pressure cookers, I have to train my brain that pressure cooking can be a silent process.

OK, so coming back to the halwa, I was just noticing that in my first post, Rasha had grated the carrots and she was tiny. This time as well, she repeated the process. She never says no to peeling and grating carrots, I am not sure if it is out of liking the activity or having no energy to say “no”. Hehe… The Instant Pot works just like a pressure cooker, so first we put it “Sauté” setup and then pressure cook on high, before we sauté the halwa again till it dries up. I kept the timer for the pressure cooker at five minutes and natural release to overcook the carrots literally, but if you don’t want that, you can keep it for 3 or 4 minutes and let the pressure go as soon as it is done. Sauté till the halwa dries up and it is ready to be enjoyed. As much as I love this halwa, the only issue is that it literally shrinks to half once cooked and makes us feel that there is hardly anything to eat. Hehe… Off to the recipe…

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Instant Pot Gajar Ka Halwa | Carrot Halwa

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 750 gm carrots red ones is best
• 2 cups full fat milk
• 1/2 can condensed milk
• 1/4 cup milk powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1-2 tbsp ghee
• Handful nuts and raisins

Instructions

• Peel the carrot and grate them either manually or with a processor.
• Switch on the Instant Pot, put on Saute mode.
• Add the ghee. Once it heats, fry the nuts briefly.
• Add in the carrots and saute for 5 minutes, tossing it gently.
• Once the carrots change color, add in the remaining ingredients, give it a good mix.
• Switch off the Saute mode and switch on Pressure Cook mode. Close the lid, make sure the pressure lid is close and set the timer to 5 minutes.
• Once the pot is done, leave the pressure to go on its own.
• Once pressure is gone, open the lid, switch on the Saute mode and cook the halwa till the liquid is gone. Make sure to keep sauteing in order to avoid sticking to the bottom.
• Switch off and enjoy - hot or cold.

Notes

If you want a more crunchy halwa, then cook on high pressure for 2 minutes, and keep the pressure for five minutes. Then release the pressure, saute till the halwa is dried. 

The post Instant Pot Gajar Halwa | Carrot Halwa appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Hello, hello, Assalamu alaikum lovely people… I know I have been missing for the longest time again, even though I promised I would be back soon. In fact, the entire month of February, I was trying to do a post, so that I don’t feel like I have missed my blog’s thirteenth birthday, but I did miss it. The post is still in my drafts. And then came Ramadan, Alhamdulillah… One of my favorite Hadiths about this month is the below:

As usual, my onus is on creating easy meals especially during this month when the onus is on doing more good. Recently, I gifted myself a Nutripot, which is a competitor brand for the Instant Pot at a better price, when I found it on a great deal. The timing couldn’t have been better – my big pressure cooker was giving up on me and this deal comes up, making me jump onto the purchase. I am really glad I did, I have been cooking in it every second day, if not every day. One thing I really wanted to try was to make a biriyani.  I loved how easy it is. I already have a few pressure cooker biriyani recipes on the blog like this one, but since this is a electrical machine, the settings are different.

The ingredients are readily available in your pantry. The only thing is to keep the pieces of chicken smaller than usual to ensure proper cooking. The entire process gets done in around 40 minutes and keeps the biriyani warm till it is time to eat – I love this feature. If you get the chance and have some space on your counter, then I do recommend to get one. I am sure you will not regret it. Meanwhile, let me go share the recipe and I sincerely hope you will try it for yourself as well…

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Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

An easy chicken biriyani made in the Instant Pot

Course Rice

Cuisine Indian/ Pakistani

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 600 gm chicken cut into small to meduim peices

FOR MARINATION

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp yogurt heaped

FOR RICE

• 1 1/4 cup basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil I used mix, more if required
• Mix of whole spices cardamom, black pepper, clove, bay leaf
• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 2 green chillies thinly chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tomato chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander and mint leaves
• 2 cups water

Instructions

• Wash and drain the chicken well.
• Add all the ingredients under "for marination" and coat well. Set aside till time of use.
• Switch on the Instant pot, take off lid, leave the inside pot. Set on "Saute" mode. Mine automatically shows 15 minutes. Leave it at that timing.
• Once the inner pot gets heated, add the oil and/or ghee. Add in the whole spices if using and saute for a few seconds.
• Add in the onion with some salt and saute occassionally till wilted. Do note that Instant Pot cooks faster than your usual pan, so keep an eye on the same.
• Once wilted, add the ginger garlic paste and chillies and saute for a few seconds.
• Add in the tomato and give a good mix. Cook till the tomato is smashed. If the mixture is getting stuck at the bottom, sprinkle in some water and scrape the bottom well.
• Once the mixture is well cooked, add in the chicken along with all its marination. You may add a couple of tbsp of water to clean up the marination in the pan and add it to the pan.
• Saute occasionally, tossing the mixture well, till the chicken starts to look whitish in color. Cook for roughly 5 minutes.
• Add in the half the coriander-mint leaves and toss well.
• Add in the water, adjust seasoning, allow it to come to a boil. Let it boil for a couple of minutes, or till the "Saute" option goes off.
• Drain the rice. Add into the boiling mixture along with the remaining coriander-mint leaves. Put the lid on.
• Choose the "Pressure Cooker" mode, keep on high, keep the timer for 6 minutes and start the process.
• Once the cooking is done, keep the pressure on for 10 minutes and then release the pressure. If you want eldente rice, then keep for 5 minutes. (refer notes)
• Open the lid, fluff up the rice. Serve hot with sides of choice.

Notes

My family likes overcooked rice and hence I kept it for 10 minutes. Otherwise let the pressure go off in 5 minutes. 

The post Instant Pot Chicken Biryani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.