Vegan Almond Halwa – Instant Pot Badam Halwa (No Oil)

Vegan Almond Halwa – Instant Pot Badam Halwa with No Added Refined oil. No ghee or dairy! 5 Mins active time. 6 Ingredients! And Almond Ladoo too! Gluten-free Grain-free Soy-free Recipe. Jump to Recipe

Its that time of the year! No not Halloween, Its Diwali this weekend! All festivals and holidays seem to all come close to each other. One day I am planning bowl meals and the next I am thinking pumpkin, Indian sweets, desserts, lentil loafs.

This Diwali I bring you 3 variations of Almond Halwa! Indian Halwa can range in texture from a crumble to a set jelly like to soft spoon fudge like. You can make this halwa into any of the textures you like! If you don’t want to use the spoon, roll it up into balls for amazing almond ladoos.

Traditional Badam Halwa recipe often requires making a sugar syrup of certain consistency, then adding almonds(soaked and blended or ground) and cooking for a good number of minutes. This recipe has none of that! No standing around in the kitchen stirring stuff and no checking on the sugar to get the right syrup thread consistency.

Just mix the sugar of choice in the hot water, Add flavors such as cardamom, saffron, rose water or cinnamon. Add in almond flour (blanched works great) and pressure cook. Done and done. With pressure cooking, the sugar, water mixture thickens and the almond flour rehydrates very quickly.  Did I mention, you don’t need any butter or oil as well! Ok lets make this. If you double the recipe(which you will want to), add a minute to the pressure cooking time.

Ingredients for Vegan Almond Halwa

You will need

• hot water
• sugar of choice. Use cane sugar for lighter color halwa, jaggery powder, coconut sugar, date sugar or other unrefined sugar of choice.
• a few drops of lime juice and a good pinch of salt (this adds the ghee/butter like flavor)
• Flavors: such as whole cardamom seeds, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon,or saffron strands.
• Almond flour. Use blanched almond flour for lighter colored halwa or use regular with skin almond flour. You can make you own ground almonds by blending raw almonds in a blender. The almonds may tend to get buttery, which is ok. or add a tbsp starch to ensure more flour like result.

First Picture uses 3 tbsp water, whole cardamom seeds and unrefined sugar. The picture below used cane sugar, saffron and 1/2 cup of water.

Depending on the water amount used, you will get the consistency in the first picture or the below picture. The thicker lumpy halwa in the first picture can be rolled into balls.

How to make Vegan Badam Halwa in the Instant Pot with step pictures

Mix the sugar in hot water. Add lime, salt and cardamom/other flavors and mix in.
Add almond flour and press and mix. Below is halwa with unrefined sugar, cardamom seeds and 3 tbsp water.

For thinner Halwa, use 1/2 cup water. Below is halwa with saffron,more water and cane sugar.

Add 1.5 cups water to the Instant Pot. Cover the dish with a light lid and place in the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 5 mins. Natural release.

Scoop into serving bowls. Indian sweets are served in small amounts. So this will serve 4 in Indian serving size, or 2 regular serves.

Garnish with chopped nuts, raisins or chopped dates.
To make ladoos: Chill for half an hour, then roll into balls. Garnish with coconut, finely chopped nuts or seeds of choice.

More Indian Sweets

• Malai Ladoo GF
• Gajar Halwa- Carrot Spoon fudge GF.
• Mango Sheera / Halwa 
• Mango Burfi – GF Bars
• Kesar Peda – GF Saffron almond fudge cookies
• 7 Cup Burfi – Chickpea flour coconut Fudge. GF
• Brown Rice Pudding– GF
• More Indian Sweets like Gulab jamun, Kaju Katli,Laddoos.

Savory Snacks and Meals:

• Potato Rice Crackers. GF
• Potato Quinoa Patties.
• Butter Tofu – Tofu in tomato Cream Sauce GF
• Coconut Korma GF

Can I make this with other nuts?

Yes, you can make it with cashews, pistachios or macadamia nuts. Use a coarse flour. Cashews will tend to make thicker halwa.

I don’t have almond flour, What do I use?

You can make you own ground almonds by blending raw almonds in a blender. The almonds may tend to get buttery, which is ok. or add a tbsp starch to ensure more flour like result. Or use other nut flour. You cannot substitute grain flour as grain flours absorb a lot more liquid. Similarly coconut flour will absorb a lot of liquid and will not work.

Can I make the Halwa directly in the Instant Pot

No, the almonds will burn with the direct heat.

Vegan Almond Halwa (Instant Pot Badam Halwa) Oil-free

4.91 from 10 votes

By: Vegan Richa

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

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Vegan Almond Halwa & Almond Ladoo - Instant Pot Badam Halwa with no added refined oil. No ghee or dairy! 5 Mins active time. 6 Ingredients! Gluten-free Grain-free Soy-free Recipe. Makes 4 Indian size servings

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Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 to 8 tbsp water, (3 Tbsp water for crumbly Halwa and for ladoos, 1/2 cup(8 tbsp) water for thin pudding like halwa, 1/3 cup water for thick halwa)
• ▢ 1/3 cup sugar, (cane sugar,conut sugar, or jaggery powder)
• ▢ 3 drops of lime juice
• ▢ 1/8 tsp salt
• ▢ Flavors: cardamom seeds from 4 green cardamom pods(see note), or 6 to 8 saffron strands, or 1/8 tsp cinnamon, or 1/2 tsp rose water
• ▢ 1 cup almond flour

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Instructions 

• Add hot water to a baking dish or pyrex** that fits your instant pot. Add the sugar and mix in. Add the lime juice, salt and flavors(cardamom, saffron etc) and mix in. (See notes for stove top)
• Add almond flour and press and mix. With less water, you will have to press and mix so there are no dry lumps. if making the thinner halwa, use a whisk to mix in the almond flour.
• Add 1.5 cups of water to the instant pot. Place the dish in the steamer basket and lower into the instant pot. Cover with a light lid or foil.
• Close the lid and pressure cook for 5 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure release naturally.
• Carefully remove the dish from the instant pot. Garnish with chopped nuts, raisins or chopped dates and serve.
• To make ladoos: Chill almond halwa made with 3 tbsp water, for half an hour, then roll into balls. Roll in coconut, finely chopped nuts or seeds of choice, or drizzle with chocolate for a halloween treat.
• Store: Store on the counter for the day. Refrigerate for upto 5 days.

Video

Notes

** You can also use the steel insert. The thicker pyrex or baking dish cooks more evenly and the halwa doesnt stick as much to them.

Green Cardamom: Use a knife to slice open the cardamom pod. Remove the black/grey seeds and break them into individual seeds if they are clumped. You can also use 1/4 tsp ground cardamom instead.

Stove Top: Use 1/2 cup water, add to a skillet over medium heat with sugar, flavor,salt and lime. Bring to a boil. Cook for another minute. Then fold in the almond flour. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for 5 to 10 mins or until desired consistency. Stir occasionally.    

Almond flour: You can make your own almond flour by blending raw almonds in a blender. Add a tbsp of starch so that the almond flour does not get too buttery. You can also use other other nut flour such as macadamia, cashew, pistachio.

Variations:

Use half coconut shreds(small shred, process in blender to make small shreds for best result) and half almond to make coconut almond ladoo. 

Add 2 tsp vegan butter for decadent halwa. 

 

Nutrition is for 1 serve

Nutrition

Calories: 219kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 73mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 18g, Calcium: 59mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!