Gazarachi kheer : Carrot Kheer

I'm on a carrot-cooking spree!!! Gajar halwa, Gajar pickle and i even made gajar chutney of which i will post the recipe soon. Guess, it's just the season (or the fact that i got 1 kg carrots at a steal price at the Sunday market :)). Whatever the reason, can't deny the fact that carrots are good for health and hence, a little overdose of them won't do any harm. Of late, my sweet cravings have increased that after every meal, i at least need a bite of chocolate if not anything, just to satisfy myself. So, every other day a dessert is made in the kitchen! Me and hubby both are kheer lovers. So, i digged into my refrigerator and found half a can of milkmaid and carrots! There! My dessert recipe was done!

Carrot kheer can be made with or without addition of rice. I have added rice, just because i wanted something wholesome to our otherwise light dinner of Maggi and egg :

Have any of you tried this combination?It's unbeatable, right? 
So, you can make the kheer without rice. Also i have added milkmaid, but you can replace it with sugar or add both according to personal preference. We like it a little less sweet and since i had milkmaid in the fridge, i decided to make with the same. Addition of milkmaid also gives it a thick consistency - somewhat like pudding. 

But trust me, whichever way you make it, you are going to lick the bowl clean. It tastes absolutely delicious!!!

Ingredients:

Carrots - 3

Milkmaid - 3 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Almonds - a few

Raisins - a few

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Rice - 1/4 cup

Full cream milk - 1/2 litre

Recipe:

Soak 1/4 cup rice in a little water for about 15 minutes and then drain. Set aside for another 15 minutes.

Boil the milk and simmer it. Keep stirring in between so it doesn't stick to the bottom and also scrape the malai from the sides of the vessel.

Wash, peel and grate the carrots.

Heat ghee in a pan, add carrots and saute for about 3-4 minutes. Don't saute it a lot till they change colour (like we make halwa), this is just so they turn a little soft. Now add the rice, mix and saute along with the carrots for about 4-5 minutes.

Add this to the simmering milk and mix well.

Keep stirring in between and cook till milk starts to reduce (it almost reduces to half). By that time, the rice is cooked too and the carrots become soft and one with the milk.

Now add in the cardamom powder and raisins.

Crush the almonds with a mortar and pestle (just so it breaks uneven) and add to the milk.

Lastly, add in milkmaid. Check the sweetness. If desired, add more milkmaid and/or sugar and cook till sugar dissolves.

Garnish with chopped almonds.

Note: If you are adding sugar instead of milkmaid, add it to the milk before adding the carrot and rice. If you feel the kheer has thickened a lot, add little milk. I added homemade cream (saay, as we call it in Marathi - the cream on top of milk boiled). Or you can refrigerate it and have it as a pudding.

Happy Cooking :)