Monday, December 7, 2009

Carrot Payasam/Kheer

In India, no festival or special occasion is complete and no guest happy without a bowl of this sweet dish. Simple yet tasty payasam is the customary sweet dish in a multicourse festival meal. Traditionally paal payasam is made with rice and milk. The rice is cooked in milk and added to boiling milk that has been reduced, sweetened with sugar and garnished with nuts and raisins. Payasam can also made with vermicelli, tapioca pearls, carrots, dates etc., the choice is endless.

During the festival season sweets and savories are cooked up to be shared and enjoyed. Savories like murukku and sweets like gulab jamun, badam (almond) burfi, badam halwa prepared ahead of the festival day and shared with friends and family.





On the festival day itself be it Christmas, Deepavali or Pongal the lunch is a very important meal, with payasam taking a starring role. Presented here is payasam made with carrots.





The recipe will be featured on Dec 12, in the International Recipe Advent Calendar over at Lexiophiles. Visit the website to check out all the recipes in the series.







Carrot Payasam/Kheer
Ingredients
1. 4 Carrots or 2 Cups worth peeled and chopped
2. 3 1/2 cups of fat free milk
3. 6-7 tbsp of sugar
4. 2 tbsp cashews + 1 tbsp raisins + 1/2 tbsp pistachios
5. 1 cardamom powdered
6. 2 tsp ghee (clarified butter) or butter

Method
1. In a pressure cooker take 2 cups of milk with the 2 cups of carrots and cook for a whistle (OR) cook on stove top till carrots are soft. Let cool.
2. Blend the carrots till smooth.
3. Roast the cashews and raisins in the ghee
3. Take the blended carrots with the rest of milk in a thick bottomed pan and cook in low medium heat, add the cardamom powder and sugar, let cook for 4-5 minutes. Add more milk if you want drinkable consistency. [cooking at this point is just to heat up the milk and dissolve the sugar]
4. Switch off the heat, add the roasted nuts.
5. Powder the pistachios roughly and sprinkle on top just before serving.
Serve warm or chilled.







This recipe goes off to BSI-Carrots.

13 comments:

  1. i have tried the halwa but never carrot kheer... should try this sometime..

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  2. The color is gorgeous.One of my dear friends made beets payasam and I was so impressed.Yet another impressive one from you..I can make decent payasam but I love eating it when my some one else makes it..LOL

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  3. Delicious! I have made them with Almonds , should try your recipe with cashews.
    I was expecting to have a nice read today...missing it

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  4. This is a gorgeous looker! Just the other day, was served carrot kheer somewhere, it was rice payasam with carrot, I didn't go beyond the first spoon.

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  5. I make a version with almonds in it.. love the presentation with the pista.

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  6. I didn't even know we could make payasom with carrots.
    Love the pic and the colour of the payasom.

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  7. I don't think I have ever had Carrot Kheer, it is always carrot halwa. This looks really gorgeous, pretty pic

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  8. When I am thinking dessert with carrot I never seem to think beyond carrot halwa...the kheer looks delicious ! Lovely pictures...

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  9. mmm carrot kheer is a staple to my elder one. I reduce the sugar and make it 3 times in a week to give him as an evening snack during his toddlerhood. Now you have made me think to start again Indo :) The pics are so warm! Whats that white thing you have sprinkled in the last shot? Is it snow ?

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  10. My all time fav, looks fantastic..

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  11. Nirmala, exactly what I was thinking, it tastes great chilled too. DD loved it, DD2 refused to touch it and when it was almost over she tasted and loved it.

    Yes! We got the first snow of the season on Saturday and I had to use it somehow :) though I hate the stuff.

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  12. Payasam looks delicious...pics look great!

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  13. Yum, this looks lovely. I especially love the pistachios popped on top :)

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