Carrot kheer, also known as carrot payasam, is a sweet milky pudding perfect for any special occasion. It’s really easy to make too! You toss a few ingredients into your instant pot and cook! I use baby carrots in the recipe, so you need to give them a quick rinse and toss them right into the pot along with milk and a bit of cardamom. Unlike the more popular rice kheer, this recipe is rice-free, making it grain-free as well. I realize that a rice-free kheer may seem unusual, but trust me – it’s delicious! With Easter just around the corner, I have carrot desserts on my mind! This would be an excellent brunch dessert to serve at your egg hunt! I love Indian desserts, and Indian carrot desserts just so happen to be a favorite of mine. I already have a gajar ka halwa recipe on my blog, as well as an Indian carrot cake. Carrots and cardamom go so well together. I use quite a bit of sugar in this recipe, but you can definitely use less. If I’m making this for my toddler, I will cut the sweetener down to ¼ cup, but if I’m making this for a party/gathering, I will use ½ cup because desserts are meant to be sweet. You can replace the sugar with the sweetener of your choice. Honey and maple syrup are good options. You can also use coconut sugar or jaggery if you don’t mind changing the color of the dessert.
Kheer or Payasam?
You might be wondering why this dish has two names? That’s because kheer is the term used in North India. In South India, this type of dish is more commonly referred to as payasam. I had never heard of “payasam” until I met my South Indian husband because, in my family, we always called this type of dessert kheer. You can make kheer or payasam out of different things but the dessert usually has a few similar ingredients: cardamom, nuts, dried fruits, and sugar or jaggery. I use cane sugar for this carrot dessert because I prefer to keep the bright orange color. If you don’t care about that then try jaggery – it’s delicious. I have a Keralite moong dal payasam in my cookbook and I love that dessert with jaggery (it’s already brown so preserving the color isn’t important in that case).
Carrot Dessert Soup
A lot of people think of kheer as a pudding. But really, the texture is more soup-like. I thought about naming my blog post “carrot dessert soup.” But then I thought you might think I was crazy. Because what the heck is dessert soup? But this really does taste like a dessert soup! I can’t decide whether or not dessert soup sounds appealing. And if you’re wondering if this is more like one of those trendy smoothie bowls (a concept I still don’t understand… just use a glass?), it’s not. Kheer is different because it’s made with milk that is cooked down. It’s rich and decadent, but you can tell yourself it’s a (sugar-filled) smoothie if that makes you feel better.
How to Serve This:
Garnish it! Top it with crushed nuts of your choice and golden raisins if you like them. You can serve this in a bowl or even in shooter glasses – I bet that would look so cute! This is a dessert that tastes even better the next day, once the cardamom has really had time to infuse into the dessert, so if you’re planning a party then make this in advance. This would be a great brunch dessert! You can serve this orange-colored kheer at any temperature. I normally prefer rice kheer to be warm but I actually prefer this carrot kheer chilled. And if you’re serving it chilled, top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Ooh, or better yet – pistachio ice cream! Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
