Carrot Kheer ( Gajar Halwa Kheer)

A green bowl filled with carrot kheer topped with nuts, rose petals and saffron with a spoon on the side.

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5 from 1 vote

Carrot Kheer ( Gajar Halwa Kheer)

A delicious and indulgent dessert using winter carrots and milk; Carrot Kheer is super easy to make.

It is inspired from Gajar ka Halwa and makes an amazing treat when served cold or warm!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dessert, Sweets

Cuisine: Indian, North Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 448kcal

Author: Smruti

Ingredients

6 cups whole milk
1 cup carrots (shredded)
½ cup rice
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup milk powder
2 teaspoon ghee
2 teaspoon almonds (slivered)
2 teaspoon pistachios (slivered)
⅛ teaspoon saffron
½ teaspoon cardamom powder

Instructions

Wash and soak the rice in water. Let the rice rest for 30-40 minutes.
½ cup rice
Drain the rice and set aside. Shred the carrots and keep ready.
1 cup carrots
Heat ghee in a thick bottom pan.
2 teaspoon ghee
Add the shredded carrots.
Sauté them till they become flavorful and start to cook.
Then add milk and mix well.
6 cups whole milk
Also add the rice.
Mix well and keep cooking on medium heat till the rice is 80 percent cooked.
Then add the add-ins.
2 teaspoon almonds, 2 teaspoon pistachios, ⅛ teaspoon saffron, ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
Also add sugar. Also add the milk powder.
⅓ cup sugar, ¼ cup milk powder
Mix well and cook everything for another 4-5 minutes.
Stir and cook till the kheer starts to thicken.
Mash using a potato masher and mix well.
Once the carrot kheer is of the desired texture, turn down the heat. Enjoy warm or cool down and serve topped with nuts and dried rose petals.

Video

Notes

Whole milk makes the creamiest kheer. However, using lower fat milk is an option too. The kheer made with lower fat milk will be less creamy. We can manage by adding some evaporated milk to the kheer too.
I like to add shredded carrots for the taste and texture. However, it is also okay to process the carrots completely to make a purée and add to the kheer. That way the color will be bright but the texture will only come from rice.
Rice is an important ingredient in kheer. However, we can easily make this recipe with samai chawal, millets, quinoa, sabudana or simply without any grain. It really depends on what you like.
I make the recipe mildly sweet. However, if you like the kheer very sweet; simply add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar.
It is common to add a can of evaporated milk to the kheer. It helps make the kheer creamy and thick.
We can easily make the same recipe using plant based milk. Use the one you like best. Almond milk goes really well with the nuts added and the carrots. Also, add almond meal in place of milk powder for a Vegan version.
To make a nut-free version, simply skip the slivered nuts. The rest of the recipe is nut-free by default.
Keep stirring the kheer intermittently. It helps keeping the kheer from burning or settling in the pan.
Use a thick bottom pan for the recipe. That way the milk does not burn the pan. Often times, a non-stick pan is also great for the recipe.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates using an automated calculator. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition