Carrot Kheer

Carrot Kheer is a unique sweet dish which my mom used to make. It is made by boiling carrots with milk and sugar; it is flavored with saffron, cashews, pistachios or almonds. Kheer is basically a pudding from the cuisine of the Indian Subcontinent. It is typically served during a meal or as a dessert. It is also known in some regions as payasam, payasa and fereni. This kheer is perfect for parties as you can make it in advance and chill in the refrigerator.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4-5 people

Recipe Courtesy – Smitha Pai (My Mom)

Ingredients Quantity Carrots 2 or 3 Milk 2 cups Sugar ½ cup Saffron (optional) 2 pinches Pistachios (peeled, unsalted) 1 tbsp Almonds 12 whole Cashew nuts 2 tbsps Vanilla Essence 1 tsp

Measurements tip:

The cup that I use here is the standard measuring cup and if you use the same measurements it yields the serving size mentioned. But you can substitute this cup with any cup of your choice where the measure of carrots is 1½ cups, milk 2 cups and sugar ½ of that same cup. The serving size will vary depending on the cup you use.

Method

In a bowl, add all the dry nuts and pour hot water till they are completely submerged in water. Close with a lid and keep for about an hour or two.

Wash the carrots nicely. Make sure there is no soil or grit on the surface. Peel them; chop the tip and the head about half an inch and discard. Dice roughly into 1 inch cubes. Pressure cook with ½ cup of water for one whistle. Cool down completely.

While the carrots are cooling peel the almonds and pistachios. Take out about 1 tbsp. of cashew nuts and 5 almonds. Chop remaining the nuts into small pieces.

In a blender jar add the reserved nuts (almonds and cashew nuts), sugar and grind. Drain the carrots, (reserve the water), add the carrots to the blender and grind to a smooth paste. Transfer the paste to a pan. Add the reserved water to the blender jar and pulse, to wash off the blender, add this water to the carrot paste. Add milk and mix well bring to a boil and turn off heat. Add the chopped nuts, vanilla essence and saffron. Cool down completely. Then chill. Served chilled.