Carrot kheer in Instant pot

Kheer or payasam is a type of pudding made by boiling milk and sugar with either one of rice, semiya/vermicelli, millets, broken wheat, poha, carrot, almonds, tapioca pearls and topped with cashews, almonds, pistachios, dessicated coconut, cardamom, raisins, saffron.

Today I am preparing with carrots.

How to make:
1. Soak almonds in water for about an hour to peel skin off.

2. Wash and peel carrots. Cut both the ends. 

3. Cube them into chunks. Peel off the skin from almonds just by holding it and twisting in between your fingers.

4. Turn ON an instant pot, press SAUTE.

5. Add 1/2 cup of water first so that milk doesn't stick on the bottom. Don't skip that. 

6. Now add milk, carrot chunks and almonds.

6. Close the lid. Press CANCEL. PRESSURE COOK for 2 min with vent in SEALING position. Leave it to natural pressure release(NPR). Open the lid. Using your hand blender, you can blend the hot ingredients to blend smoothly inside the instant pot. If you don't have blender, let it cool to room temperature and grind them to a smooth paste and transfer to the pot again.

7. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Press SAUTE, let them again simmer for 2 minutes.

9. If you want them thick, don't add water. If you want little bit runny add water and simmer for 2 mins.

A small video to make this kheer:

Here comes the full recipe:

Ingredients:

Carrots - 500g

Whole milk - 1l/4 cups

Cane sugar - 1/2 cup

Almonds - 1/4 cup

Cane sugar - 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Water - 1/2 cup

How to make:
1. Soak almonds in water for about an hour to peel skin off.

2. Wash and peel carrots. Cut ends and cube them into chunks.
3. Turn ON an instant pot, press SAUTE.

4. Add 1/2 cup of water first so that milk doesn't stick on the bottom. Don't skip that.

5. Peel off the skin from almonds just by holding it and twisting in between your fingers.

6.. Now add milk, carrot chunks and almonds.

6. Close the lid. Press CANCEL. PRESSURE COOK for 2 min with vent in SEALING position. Leave it to natural pressure release(NPR).

7. Open the lid. Using your hand blender, you can blend the hot ingredients to blend smoothly inside the instant pot. If you don't have blender, let it cool to room temperature and grind them to a smooth paste and transfer to the pot again.

8. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Press SAUTE, let them again simmer for 2 minutes.

9. If you want them thick, don't add water. If you want little bit runny add water and simmer for 2 mins.

Note:

1. Almonds are used as a thickening agent to this kheer. If you don't have almonds use cashews of the same quantity.

2. Adjust sugar according to your taste buds.

3. If you are allergic to nuts or you don't like them, just simply omit it and do the same process. But your kheer will little watery.

4. You can add nuts of your choice too. But I omitted it here.

Semiya Payasam - Happy Diwali To All

Ingredients:

Semiya – 1 cup – Roasted

Sugar – 1 cup

Milk – 1 litre

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Cashews – 8

Raisins – ¼ cup

Ghee – 3 tbsp

Method:

1. In a tall vessel, add milk and boil. Wait till it is reduced to half.

2. Add semiya and cook well.

3. Add sugar and mix well.

4. Add cardamom powder and mix well and switch off the stove.

5. In a small kadai, heat ghee and roast cashews and raisins.

6. Add roasted cashews and raisins in kheer.

Caramel Semiya payasam

One day i baked fruit cake. In that recipe, we caramelize sugar. That idea make me to try this semiya payasam.

Ingredients:

Semiya - 1 cup - roasted

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Milk - 2 cups

Chopped nuts, raisins - few

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

To caramelize:

Sugar - 1 tsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Heat kadai and add sugar. Sugar will start to turn browning i.e., caramelizing. Simmer the flame and add water. Remove as soon as possible.

2. Cool it.

3. In another kadai, add milk and bring it to nearly 1 1/4 cups.

4. Add semiya and make it to boil.

5. Add sugar, cardamom powder and caramelized sugar.

6. Now fry all the nuts in ghee and add it to the payasam.

7. Serve hot or cold.