When guests are coming over or when you need to make a quick sweet which everybody would like then carrot payasa or kheer can be one your choices. It tastes best chilled or at room temperature. You can even make it ahead of time and refrigerate it.
It’s just a matter of slicing up some fresh carrots and cooking them through. They can be even cooked in a pressure cooker till soft. Made fragrant with elaichi, this easy to make carrot payasa is popular with kids. They will like the colour and texture. It is smooth and sweet, so you would not hear any complaints.
To top it all off, carrot payasa has raisins and cashews. Carrots and raisins are BFFs for sure. Match made in heaven or whatever you want to call them but they are surely meant to go together. Thick milk added to this payasa makes it extra creamy and delicious.
Let me now reveal the secret ingredient. It is nothing but almond powder or almond meal. It adds a little something to all aspects of this payasa, texture, taste – all boxes are ticked.
Try other carrot based dishes like carrot parathas, carrot halwa from FOI. More payasa recipes like hesarubele payasa (mung dal payasa), sabudana kheer, seviyaan kheer etc. More sweets from FOI…
- 300 Gm or 4-5 medium sized carrots
- 1 Tbsp ghee
- ½ Cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp almond meal/powder
- 4-5 powdered elaichi
- 1 Cup whole milk or as required to adjust consistency
- 2 Tbsp raisins
- 6-8 cashews to garnish
- Scrub, peel and wash carrots
- Slice carrots and meanwhile boil some water
- Drop in the sliced carrots into the pan
- Simmer and let the sliced carrots cook till soft
- Pierce the edge of a knife or a fork to see if the carrots have turned soft
- In another pan, heat half the ghee i.e. about ½ Tbsp ghee and fry the raisins till they plump up
- Once the carrots have cooled a bit, crush or grind them with a hand blender or in a blender
- Add the rest of the ghee and mix well
- Next add sugar and mix well
- Sprinkle the almond powder/meal and mix well
- After sugar and almond meal have blend well with the carrot purée add the elaichi powder and mix well
- Pour milk to adjust consistency
- Mix milk well with the carrot payasa
- Finally add the plumped up raisins and mix well
- Let it chill, garnish with cashews and raisins
- Enjoy chilled or at room temperature!
Carrots can be cooked in the pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles
If you do not have almond meal, just soak almonds in boiling water, peel and blend into a powder or into a paste with water
Carrot Payasa Stepwise:
Scrub, peel and wash carrots
Slice carrots and meanwhile boil some water
Drop in the sliced carrots into the pan
Simmer and let the sliced carrots cook till soft
Pierce the edge of a knife or a fork to see if the carrots have turned soft
In another pan, heat half the ghee i.e. about 1/2 Tbsp ghee and fry the raisins till they plump up
Once the carrots have cooled a bit, crush or grind them with a hand blender or in a blender
Add the rest of the ghee and mix well
Next add sugar and mix well
Sprinkle the almond powder/meal and mix well
After sugar and almond meal have blend well with the carrot purée add the elaichi powder and mix well
Pour milk to adjust consistency
Mix milk well with the carrot payasa
Finally add the plumped up raisins and mix well
Let it chill, garnish with cashews and raisins
Enjoy chilled or at room temperature!
