Gajar ki Kheer-Carrot Kheer (Payasam)-Diwali Sweets Recipes

Gajar ki Kheer is not as popular as Gajar ka Halwa so as I was looking for sweets (dessert) recipe ideas for a Diwali potluck party and had finally zeroed in on Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa). I bought carrots and extra milk in preparation for the day and that's when I happened to chat with Jey. I told her my plans and she made a pretty wise observation - to make carrot halwa for 8 people, I would need a lot of carrots since they cook down a lot!

She gave a solution too - carrot kheer! It sounded like a great idea and I can use the ingredients in hand too. Win!

The kheer turned out really good and there was just enough for 8 people. Carrot Kheer is a great idea for Diwali dessert especially if you are having guests/family over or invited to a Diwali potluck party.

Gajar ki Kheer-Carrot Kheer (Payasam)-Diwali Sweets Recipes

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 8
Adapted from: Jeyashri's Kitchen

Ingredients:
500 gm of carrots
1 litre of milk
2 tbsp of ghee
A few of cashew nuts / almonds / pistachios (whatever you have in hand)
A few of raisins
1/3 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of powdered cardamom
1/3 cup of condensed milk

How I Made It:

1. Set aside one cup milk and add the rest to a heavy-bottomed pan (I used my pressure cooker pan). Bring to boil and add the sugar. Continue to simmer on low heat for 25-30 mins until the milk has reduced and thickens a bit. The colour will also change. Take care to keep stirring and don't let it burn at the bottom. Transfer to another bowl and set aside to cool.

2. Grate the carrots. Since this is hard work, I always get TH to do it :D

3. Heat the ghee in a pan and add the cashew nuts (or whatever nuts you are using) and raisins. Roast until the raisins puff up and the nuts turn golden brown. Drain and set aside.

4. Add the grated carrots to the same pan and fry for 5 mins. The colour will change slightly from orange to a dark yellow.

5. Add the carrots and the 1 cup reserved milk to the pressure cooker pan we used to reduce the milk. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Cool this mixture.

6. Once the cooked carrots have cooled, add a couple tablespoons to the reduced milk (if you want some bite in your carrot kheer) and blend the rest until smooth. Add the pureed carrots to the milk mixture too.

7. Top this off with the roasted nuts and raisins, powdered cardamom (I used Everest Milk Masala that Jey gave me) and condensed milk.

8. Mix well and chill before serving. You can top it off with some slivered almonds while serving for an extra bite. I didn't add as much sugar as I've mentioned in the recipe here so the carrot kheer was milder and quite delicious. I will definitely be making this again.

I am just back from a 2-week vacation to Kerala and my sis got me three wooden boards all prepped for food photography. I clicked the carrot kheer on one of them and love the effect. You will definitely be seeing more of these boards in my pictures :) Thanks sis!

What dessert is cooking at your place for Diwali (Deepavali) this year?