Carrot Payasam - Gajar Kheer Recipe Indian sweet dish

Carrot Recipes - Indian dessert recipe

Carrot payasam, carrot Kheer or Gajar ki kheer is a nutritious Indian sweet dish.

Carrot kheer is served with a meal or at the end of a meal as a dessert. It is made for a festival or as a party dessert as it can be made in advance and then refrigerated.

Carrots are known as gajar, gajjari in Indian languages. Though the English word carrot is more commonly used in south Indian states.

Carrot kheer has all the goodness of carrots and the milk and the flavor of saffron and the cardamom. It is also a very easy to make among the sweet recipes.

Carrot kheer - Carrot payasam - Gajar ki kheer

Carrot payasam - Gajar ki kheer - Carrot kheer

I prefer to make this carrot kheer on festival days or on any other day when I am craving for something sweet as carrot kheer is made with a vegetable.

I feel this is healthier compared to other deep fried sweets made using maida / plain flour. I am sure you will agree.

How to make carrot Kheer

Ingredients for carrot payasam - Gajar ki kheer

grated carrot

Ingredients for carrot Kheer to serve 3-4

carrots - 2 medium size
sugar - 1/4 cup - more or less according to taste.
saffron - few strands
cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon
nuts such as almonds, cashews - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Milk - 500 ml

Preparation before making gajar ki kheer

Wash and peel carrots
Grate the carrots using a fine grater. You may use a food processor to grate carrots if you wish.
Chop the nuts.

Cooking Carrot Kheer

Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan.
Add grated carrots and fry on low flame for 4-5 minutes stirring all the while. This is done till the raw carrot smell disappears.
Add milk and boil for 15 minutes or till carrots are cooked well.
Add sugar and chopped nuts. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
Add cardamom powder and saffron strands. It will enhance flavor and color too.

Carrot kheer is ready to serve hot.

If you are planning to serve it cold, cool it to the room temperature and then keep in the fridge. It will keep in the fridge for a week or so. But by that time it will definitely be over.

Tips:

Instead of grating, Carrots may also be ground using some milk.
Add sugar only after carrots are cooked.
If you like thicker consistency and richer taste, add some khoya along with sugar.
You may use condensed milk instead of sugar to enhance taste and consistency.
Add some almond paste - one table spoon, if you wish nutty and rich taste.

Serve hot or chilled. Enjoy this in the hot summer afternoons as a cool snack or as a desert.