Carrot kheer or carrot payasam recipe is a rich, delicious Indian Style Carrot pudding/dessert prepared from carrots, almonds, milk, dates or sugar, saffron, pistachios made in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or stovetop.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 148330 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 2 medium carrots ((about 1 cup))
  • 15-20 almonds ((soaked for 15 minutes and skin removed))
  • 8 pitted dates ((or 1/4 cup sugar))
  • 2 cups whole milk ((or almond milk))
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 pinch saffron ((soaked in 1 tablespoon of warm milk))
  • 1-2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • 2 tablespoons pistachios (for garnish)

Method

Instant Pot Method:

  1. Firstly, soak the almonds in hot water for 15 mins or boiling water for 5 mins. Then peel the skin of the almonds. Keep aside.
  2. Peel and chop the carrots roughly into small circles or cubes.
  3. Firstly add 1 cup of water into the instant pot insert. Next, place the trivet and the bowl with carrots, almonds, dates, and ½ cup of water. Note: You can also cook carrots directly in the Instant Pot insert.
  4. Close the lid. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 4 minutes. Once the pot beeps, allow 10-minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR) and then release the remaining pressure manually.
  5. Blend the cooked carrots almond dates mixture with little water or milk until completely smooth.
  6. Press SAUTE button. Add ghee into the pot. Once hot, add the carrot almond paste and cook for 1-2 minutes or till the raw smell of the carrots is gone.
  7. Next, add the milk to the pot, mix well and let the milk come to a boil. Stir frequently.
  8. Once the kheer just starts to boil, add the cardamom powder, saffron milk, mix well, and Press Cancel. The kheer will thicken as it cools.
  9. Garnish with pistachios. Serve warm or cold.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:

  1. Follow the process mentioned above for the stovetop pressure cooker. Give 2-3 whistles and let the pressure release naturally. All the other steps remain the same.

Stovetop Pot Method:

  1. Follow the process mentioned above. Cover pot with a lid and cook till carrots are tender. Takes about 10-15 minutes. Do stir once or twice in between. All the other steps remain the same.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.