I’ve figured out how to make atta halwa (aate ka halwa) using the least effort possible! It takes minutes to make in an instant pot.
Atta halwa, also known as karah prasad, is made with just three ingredients: wheat flour, sugar and ghee. I’m also sharing a gluten-free version!
How is this easier to make in an instant pot?
This type of halwa is much easier to make in an instant pot.
Traditionally, you’re supposed to roast flour and ghee together in a pot and then boil sugar in another pot and then combine the two pots together and watch the halwa mixture bubble and splutter and hope you don’t get hurt in the process. If you’re kinda clumsy like I am (there’s a reason I keep a first aid kit in the kitchen), trying to pour hot sugar into another pan is just something to avoid.
With an instant pot, you can easily make a sugar syrup in minutes. After that, you just stir in ghee and roasted flour. That’s it! The halwa is done!
The most time consuming part of making this halwa in an instant pot is that you first need to dry roast flour until it turns golden which really only takes ten minutes. You can even do this step in advance and have roasted flour ready for when you want to make this.
Is this the same thing as karah prasad?
This is the same type of halwa as karah prasad or kada prasad which is given as an offering in gurudawaras (religious place of worship for those following the Sikh religion). Typically though, karah prasad is made with equal amounts of flour, sugar and ghee. In my recipe, I use less ghee though you can easily add more if you’d like.
How do I make gluten free flour halwa?
I’ve tested this with a couple brands of gluten-free flour and my suggestion is to use this brand (swad gluten-free chapati flour). The reason I suggest this brand is because it roasts well and looks and tastes more like whole wheat flour halwa.
Gluten-free flours vary and some blends (especially if they are primarily made up of rice flour, potato starch or tapioca flour) may look lighter in color and may be a bit “gummy.” I’ve tried this halwa using “gluten-free measure for measure flour” (available at Costco) and while good, it’s not quite as good as the swad brand.
The great thing about this halwa is that it’s made with three common ingredients found in most Indian homes, making it a great recipe to make anytime you need a last-minute sweet dish (my kheer recipe is also good last minute option). This halwa is nut-free and gluten-free (if you use this gluten-free flour). I know you’ll love this dessert!
Print Instant Pot Atta Halwa (gluten-free option)
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or this brand of gluten-free flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup – ¾ cup ghee
Instructions
- Press sauté and adjust the heat to the highest setting. Once the pot is hot, add the flour and dry roast until the flour no longer smells raw and looks light golden in color (this takes around 10 mins for both wheat flour and the gluten free flour).
- Remove the flour and set it aside for now.
- Add the water and sugar to the pot.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Quick release.
- Press the sauté button, add the ghee and roasted flour and stir continuously for 1-2 minutes or until well combined.
Notes
- For a variation, try adding some cardamom to the halwa or add nuts and raisins.
- Making gluten-free atta ka halwa? I’ve tested this with a couple brands of gluten-free flour and my suggestion is to use this brand (swad gluten-free chapati flour). The reason I suggest this brand is because it roasts well and looks and tastes like whole wheat flour halwa. Gluten-free flours vary and some blends (especially if they are primarily made up of rice flour, potato starch or tapioca flour) may look lighter in color and may be a bit “gummy.” I’ve tried this halwa using “gluten-free measure for measure flour” (available at Costco) and it’s just not as good as the swad brand.
Can we use brown sugar for this? Thanks for the recipe
I haven’t tried this with brown sugar but I don’t see why not! I’m sure it’ll be great. Let me know how it goes 🙂
I purchased jaggery at my local Indian grocery but rarely see it included in recipes. Why is that? Can I substitute it for sugar and if so what proportion?
Hi Sharon, I don’t use jaggery very often in my recipes for a few reasons: it’s not as easy to find, it can change the flavor of a dish and it adds a brown hue to recipes – though obviously in this recipe the color isn’t an issue. Jaggery has a brown sugar molasses like flavor and so unless I think a recipe benefits from that, I don’t use it. That said, if you love the flavor you can definitely use jaggery in place of sugar any time you’d like. I would use it in equal proportion – though technically, white sugar is slightly sweeter than jaggery so you may end up wanting to add a bit more but can easily do so to taste. Hope that helps!
Can you substitute ghee with oil for vegan version?
Hi Harman, I think the flavor that ghee adds to this dessert is important so I wouldn’t substitute it. If you do try though, please let us know how it goes!
I replaced sugar with jaggery and followed rest of the recipe. It came out great. Quick and easy and delicious. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
That’s great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Wow! This turned out amazing – normally mine always comes out runny and becomes more like a porridge but not anymore. Thank you so much – you’ve truly transformed my kitchen!!
★★★★★
Dalbir, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how this halwa turned out for you 🙂
I made this recipe this weekend and it was amazing. Perfect – exactly like traditional Punjabi “Karah”. I didn’t alter the recipe as all. This is a much easier, less messy and smelly way to make atta halwa.
★★★★★
Avneet, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
Hi Ashley,
The recipe looks great! If I reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup, will it make a difference to the sugar syrup?
Thank you so much.
★★★★★
Hi Monika, I haven’t tried but I think if you reduce the sugar, you may need to sauté a little longer at the end to combine it all together. If you try, please let me know how it goes!
Quick question..have you ever tried multigrain atta for any recipes?
In the process of trying out the gluten free version for my Celiac wife. In step #6, when putting back in the saute mode again, do you keep it on high again or just normal version of the saute feature
Hi Ankit, use the normal/default mode 🙂 I hope she loves it! Please let me know!
Hi Ashley –
I made this today with Swad brand Gluten-Free flour. It came out amazing! Thanks gor your genius recipes and tips. And giving me some of my life back LOL.
Shelly, hooray! I’m so glad you made and liked it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Hi Ashley quick question, do you use Swad gluten free multigrain atta or is there any other plain atta? I have only seen Swad Gluten free Multigrain..
Hi Ashley
Loved this recipe … can we double or triple this recipe with same time ?
Hi Ashley
Great recipe
If we double or triple this recipe – should we increase time too ?
★★★★★
Thank you! I haven’t tried doubling or tripling this recipe so I’m not sure – hopefully another reader will comment if they’ve tried.
Hi Ashley,
I usually make prasad every month for events so was trying to increase qty
I tried doubling the recipe with increase in time for 8 mins
But it didnt come out like the 1 Cup recipe, so how can you tell how much to increase time?
Any inputs?
Hi, I’ve only tried this recipe as written – I’m not sure why it didn’t work when you tried to double it. Can you describe what it looked like? I wonder if you may have needed to mix more?
Hi Ashley
Thanks for your reply, it tasted more raw-ish and didnt get the ghee taste even color was light brown
Love this recipe, Ashley! My son and I dont get to enjoy many traditional Indian sweets due to our gluten sensitivity. This was sooooo good! I added 1/2 c ghee and didn’t see the ghee float (which is how I like it). Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Dalia, I’m so glad you and your son like this halwa recipe so much! Really glad you got to enjoy it 🙂
I always wonder what is the right measuring container for dry and wet! Do you use same containers for both or do you use measuring container designed for dry and wet separately?
Hi Shruthi, both types of cups hold the same volume. Dry measuring cups exist because it’s easier to measure – for example with flour, you can use a dry measuring cup to scoop out flour and then level it, whereas that would be much harder to do with a liquid measuring cup. If you use a dry measuring cup to measure water, it may spill out, whereas that wouldn’t happen with a liquid measuring cup. That said, if you have a steady hand, you can always measure water in a dry measure cup – I do that sometimes out of convenience.