Carrot Kheer | Carrot Payasam

Another week. Another Monday. And another episode of Monday blues. Sigh. To pep up my mood, I am going to be posting about a sweet recipe today – Carrot Kheer. Given my sweet tooth, I can’t stay away from sweets for long. I make some small treats at home to satiate my dessert pangs and one such attempt was this Carrot Kheer. Usually at home, amma used to make carrot halwa. And Kheer/Payasam is usually made with Vermicelli. On a bored day, I thought why not combine these two recipes and that’s how Carrot Kheer was made.

To make this Kheer, I grated carrots very finely  - one can blend the carrots to a paste as well. To keep the calories on the lower side, I used only one teaspoon of ghee and have used toned milk. If you desire a richer version of this kheer, fresh cream can be added as well along with full fat milk. But let me assure you, this recipe tastes great as it is and does not require any other modifications. The best part about this kheer is that it comes out naturally golden orangish yellow – so beautiful to look at. This can be served hot as well as chilled, though we preferred it hot-hot 🙂

To prepare Carrot Kheer | Carrot Payasam

Serves – 2

Time to prepare – 20 mins

What I used –

• Grated Carrot, ¾^th cup
• Toned Milk, 1.5 cups
• Sugar, 6 tsp
• Green Cardamom, 1 or 2
• Ghee/Clarified Butter, 1 teaspoon + ½ tsp
• Almonds, 3-4
• Cashews, 3-4

How I made –

1. In a thick bottomed pan, add half teaspoon of ghee and let it heat up. Add chopped almonds and cashews. Fry until golden brown. Take them out on to a bowl. Set aside.
2. In the same pan, add one teaspoon of ghee and add finely grated carrot. Fry on low flame for 5-7 mins. The carrots should turn a bright yellow from bright orangish color.
3. Add ½ cup of milk to the pan and cook the carrots in milk. Cover the pan with a lid for 5 mins. The carrots should be cooked well and the milk must be almost evaporated.
4. On low flame, add the remaining milk to the pan and let it come to a boil. Add finely crushed green cardamom.
5. Add sugar, mix until it’s dissolved. Take the Kheer off the flame.
6. Serve onto individual serving bowls. Garnish with ghee fried almonds and cashews. Serve hot or chilled.

Note –

• As the carrots are on the sweeter side, I have used less sugar. Quantity of sugar can be changed as per personal preference.
• Instead of adding crushed green cardamom, one can add cardamom powder as well.
• The choice of dry fruits is as per the preference. Although, raisins do not taste good with this kheer.
• Full fat milk or fresh cream can be added to enhance the richness of the dessert.
• Do not keep the flame on high while mixing sugar, the milk can curdle.