Carrot Kheer | Gajar Kheer | Carrot Payasam

I love making easy desserts that are extremely delicious. I don't have a big sweet tooth at all and I hardly crave for chocolates, ice-cream and the likes. So if you are looking for a large 8-layered fancy chocolate slathered cake, you wont find it in here :). I have never felt like getting into all that effort for a dessert. But I do live with a person who is the exact opposite. His teeth are all sweet ;). So once in a while I have to make the puddings, cakes, muffins, kheer, cookies etc for S. He has often commented about the lack of dessert posts in my blog [ can you sense the ulterior motive? ;)] and I agree. So I am trying to make atleast a couple of healthy desserts each month.

I think Carrot kheer would be one of my go-to dessert recipe if I had a lot of guests coming in. Not a lot of effort or time involved in making this one, but the end result is super delicious and also makes you feel healthy. Carrot always does. :) So lets get on to learning how to make this kheer.

Ingredients

Serves - 2
Prep Time - 10 min
Cook time - 15 min

Carrot - 4 medium, chopped into medium sized pieces
Milk - 2 cups
Sugar - 1/4 cup minus 1.5 Tsp
Raisins - 1 Tsp
broken Cashews - 1 Tbsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 Tsp
Ghee - 1.5 Tsp

How do you do it

1. Take the carrots and 1 cup milk in pressure cooker and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles. Let this cool completely. Blend this milk-carrot using your mixer jar into a smooth paste and keep.

2. Heat ghee in a pan, add cashews and raisins and roast until they brown. Keep aside.

3. In the same pan, add the blended carrot-milk paste and saute for 3-5 minutes. This is just to make sure there is no raw smell. Cool this mixture again.

4. Take the remaining one cup of milk in a thick bottom milk pan and bring to boil. When it starts to boil, add the sugar, cardamom powder and stir. Simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes until the milk thickens and reduces in quantity. Cool completely.

5. Mix the reduced milk and sauteed blended carrot-milk paste and the raisins, nuts together. Fill them up in individual glasses and chill them in refrigerator.

You could add some chopped almonds on top while serving. Enjoy! :)

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Zucchini Lentil Salad

This Zucchini-Spinach-Lentil salad is more of a stir fry than a salad. I prepared it the same way I would do for various kinds of lentil "Sundal", and this dish felt enormously healthy :). When you have been eating outside for quite a while, you feel this need to cleanse your system and eat something that would make you feel extremely healthy, this happened on one such day soon after we moved into our new place and started cooking our own meals once again. I remember my delhi trip about 15 yrs back that lasted 10 days and that was the first time I probably realised I just couldn't eat out all the time, restaurant meals tire you out very soon :). So here is something that would make you feel really good and healthy - Zucchini Lentil salad

Ingredients

Serves - 2
Spice Level - Moderate
Prep Time - 20 minutes + 5 hrs of soaking time
Cook time - 10 minutes

1/2 cup mixed lentils [ I used moon dal, black eyed beans, cow-peas ]
Zucchini - 1 medium sized, cut into moon shaped pieces
Spinach - 150 gm, chopped roughly
Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 Tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 Tsp
Dry Red chilli - 2
Curry leaves - 1 Sprig
Salt - as per need
Turmeric - a pinch
Oil - 1 Tsp

How do you do it

1. Soak the cow-peas and black eyed beans for about 4-5 hrs. Drain and pressure cook them until they are tender to bite. Also boil the moong dal with a pinch  of turmeric until tender but firm. We don't want any of the lentils to get mashed up while frying them

2. Boil Zucchini for about 2-3 minutes in the microwave and keep aside.

3. Heat a kadai with oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Add the jeera/urad dal and break the red chillies and add them in, let them roast. Add the curry leaves now.

4. Add the zucchini and spinach and saute them well with the tempering, wait for a few minutes for the spinach leaves to wilt.

5. Thrown in all the cooked lentils, required salt and stir it well and cook for a couple of minutes.

6. Take off flame and if you like, add a tsp of lime juice.

Serve this stir fry with any fruit juice of your choice for a healthy and filling dinner.

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Easy Potato Roast/ Potato Vadakkal

                                      Cubed Potatoes roasted to a crisp with Indian spices

Who doesn't love potato vadakkal :) ? This is something I long for at least once a month. Curd rice and Potato roast is such a heavenly combination for lunch and is one of my most favourite dish. And I dint mention how quick this was right?,  in and out of the kadai in 20 minutes :).

Ingredients

Serves - 2
Spice Level - Moderate
Prep Time - 5 minutes
Cook time - 20 minutes

Potatoes - 4,medium sized
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Mustard - 1 Tsp
Jeera - 1 Tsp
Hing - a generous pinch
Curry Leaves - 2 Sprigs
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Masala/Curry Powder - 1 Tbsp
Salt - as per need

How do you do it

1. Peel and wash the potatoes well. Chop them into medium sized pieces and keep aside soaked in a bowl of water to prevent them from oxidizing.

2. Heat oil in a kadai and throw in the hing, mustard, jeera and curry leaves and let them roast.

3. Drain the potatoes and throw them in and mix well with the tempering.

4. Add the turmeric, half the amount of salt and the curry powder. Wrap the potatoes well with these.

5. On medium flame, saute them and close with a kadai. Let them cook for about 15-20 minutes. In between you may sprinkle some water and stir with a ladle to prevent from sticking to a kadai. You could taste the seasoning in between and add more salt, curry powder if needed.

6. Remove from flame once they are crispy and cooked and seasoning is just perfect.

Goes really well when served with rasam or curd rice.

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