Instant Pot Lapsi Recipe — Gujarati Kansar with Jaggery
Traditional Gujarati lapsi made with coarse wheat flour and jaggery, roasted on Sauté and steamed pot-in-pot in the Instant Pot until every grain is tender. Finish with hot ghee and powdered sugar.
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker
- Instant Pot trivet
- 1.5–2 quart heatproof bowl with lid or plate to cover
Ingredients
For the lapsi base
- 1 cup coarse wheat flour / lapsi flour / fada about 250 g
- ¼ cup neutral oil about 50 g; plus extra if needed for roasting
- 1 cup grated or chopped jaggery about 150 g
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon ghee use extra oil for vegan
To serve
- 2 to 3 tablespoons hot ghee or to taste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar tagar; or to taste
- 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios optional garnish
Instructions
Prep the flour
- In a mixing bowl, combine coarse wheat flour and ¼ cup oil. Rub the oil into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks sandy and holds a loose clump when squeezed. Set aside.
Roast the flour (Instant Pot)
- Add the oiled flour to the clean, dry Instant Pot inner pot. Press Sauté and adjust to Normal. Stir constantly 8 to 12 minutes until the flour smells nutty and turns a shade deeper. It should not smell raw or look dark brown. Transfer the roasted flour to a heatproof mixing bowl and wipe the inner pot if needed.
Make the jaggery water
- In the inner pot on Sauté, or in a small saucepan on the stovetop, combine 1 cup water, jaggery, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 teaspoon ghee. Stir until the jaggery melts, then boil 1 to 2 minutes until the liquid measures about 1 cup total. Turn off the heat and cool 2 to 3 minutes.
- Strain the warm jaggery water over the roasted flour. Mix thoroughly with a spoon, then with your hand if needed, until every grain is evenly moistened and the texture looks like damp sand. The mixture should not be a sticky dough.
Steam pot-in-pot
- Rinse and dry the inner pot, then add 1½ cups water. Place the trivet inside.
- Transfer the lapsi mixture to a heatproof bowl that fits on the trivet with room for the lid to close. Level the top, cover the bowl with a plate or tight foil.
- Lower the bowl onto the trivet. Close the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes.
- When the cycle ends, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting to release any remaining steam.
Finish and serve
- Carefully open the lid and remove the hot bowl. Insert a knife into the center; it should come out clean with no wet batter clinging to it. If the center still looks raw, cover and steam again on High Pressure for 3 minutes with a 5-minute natural release.
- Cool the lapsi slightly until you can handle it. Rub the mixture between your palms in batches to separate the grains.
- Serve warm in small bowls. Top each portion with hot ghee, powdered sugar, and optional chopped pistachios. Mix at the table so every spoonful gets glossy, sweet grains.
Notes
Flour choice: Use coarse lapsi flour or fada. Fine chapati atta will not give the correct grainy texture.
Jaggery water ratio: Boiled jaggery water should equal half the volume of dry flour (1 cup syrup for 1 cup flour). Measure after boiling if unsure.
Roasting is flavor: Do not skip the flour roast step. Aromatic, lightly golden flour is what makes lapsi taste toasted rather than boiled.
Vegan swap: Replace ghee with neutral oil in the jaggery water and when serving, or use warm coconut oil at the table.
Sugar instead of jaggery: Substitute 1 cup sugar; flavor will be milder and lighter in color.
Stovetop pressure cooker: Steam covered bowl on trivet with 1½ cups water — 1 whistle high, 5 whistles medium, then natural release.
Storage: Cool completely; room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat gently with a splash of water, then refresh with ghee.
Make ahead: Roast flour and mix with jaggery water up to 4 hours ahead; steam when ready to serve.
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