Carrot Almond Kheer / Pudding

I am very fond of Carrot Halwa. I used to make that a lot as dessert for company. I once saw a recipe for Carrot payasam in some Indian Cook book (don't remember which one). I started making that because it is quicker than Halwa. Once I added some left over blanched almonds and that is how I make this dessert now. The nuttiness of almonds give it a nice aroma and thickens the kheer very easily. You can skip using condensed milk and use milk and sugar instead. That will yield a thinner version of this, which can be served in tall glasses similar to milk shake or smoothie.

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Ingredients:
Carrot - 6 medium peeled and cut into 1" chunks
Almonds - 1/2 cup (I used whole, but if you don't like the skin, blanch, remove skin and then use it)
Water - 2 - 2 1/2 cups (You can use milk instead)
Condensed milk - 1 can
Cardamom - 5 pods crushed
Slice almonds - few for garnish (optional)

Method:
In a saucepan, take the chopped carrots, almonds (whole or blanched). Pour enough water to cover the whole carrots. I used about 1 1/2 cups. Boil it till carrots are fork tender. If the water has evaporated, add some more. Turn off the heat and let cool a bit. Take entire saucepan contents in a blender/mixie. Add crushed cardamom pods to the blender and make a puree. You can use some water or milk to aid the machine. When pureed, pour it back into the saucepan. Add condensed milk and keep on very low flame and keep stirring frequently. When it comes to a simmer, turn it off. Garnish with some sliced almonds if desired. Serve hot or cold.

Notes:
This one is a bit on the sweet side. You can thin it down a bit by adding about a cup of milk which in turn reduces the sugar concentration. By the time I got to eat it, the entire pot was almost gone so I didn't adjust anything. I used organic carrots which are very sweet to begin with. That could be the reason for this being a bit on the sweeter side. Other way of doing this without compromising on the thickness is by increasing the carrots to about 8 and adding 1/2 a cup of milk along with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk can. Don't alter the almond amount.

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Enjoy.