Mom bought several cookery books during last year’s Big Bad Wolf sale. One of them is called Cooking With Asian Roots. This book boost some really interesting recipes using roots and for my first trial, I choose a fairly simple one to make. It’s called carrot kheer or gajar kheer (or gajar payasam). It’s an Indian dessert usually serves during special occasions like weddings and Deepavali.
I would describe carrot kheer as carrot juice with an Indian twist. 😉
Let’s start cooking…
Grated carrots. Ohh I simply dislike grating.
Place some grated carrots aside and sliced some roasted almonds for garnish later.
Place grated carrots and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once tender, remove saucepan from heat and let it cool.
Meanwhile, ground some cardamoms using pestle and mortar. Smash the pods with pestle and remove the shell. Then ground the seeds. It’s so simple and only take less than 5 minutes.
I use the same ground almonds that we use for making macaron.
Blend the cooled boiled carrots until smooth. Then place in a saucepan.
Add milk and sugar and bring liquid to the boil. Remember to stir until sugar is dissolved. Then add ground almonds and ground cardamom. Stir until well combined and remove from heat. Adjust sugar and ground cardamom quantity to suit your taste.
Carrot kheer is outrageously good. So good that it became an instant hit with my family. The use of ground cardamom makes it all the different. The taste is very addictive. I like it hot while others like it cold.
The clever use of ground almond adds texture to carrot kheer. Initially I only plan to use sliced roasted almonds and some grated carrots as garnish but I later mix all the garnish into the dessert making the texture even better. Try adding cashew nuts, raisins or other nuts for variation.
Hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I do. 🙂
Carrot Kheer – Gajar Kheer
Adapted from Cooking with Asian Roots
Serves 4-5
400g carrots, peeled and grated
400ml water
1L milk (full cream)
120g castor sugar (I used 90g)
80g ground almonds or cashew nuts
1 teaspoon + 1 pinch ground cardamom
5-10 roasted almonds, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon grated carrot
Method:
1. Place grated carrots and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat once carrots are tender. Set aside to cool.
2. Blend carrots until smooth. Place pureed carrot in saucepan and add milk and sugar.
3. Bring mixture to the boil. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved.
4. Add ground almonds/cashew nuts and ground cardamom and stir until combined.
5. Remove from heat and garnish with sliced roasted almonds and grated coconut. Serve warm or cold to your liking.
Enjoy!
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