Carrot Phirni

I am a sincere lover of cooking and baking. From the last few months, I was dying to add a new recipe to my cookbook. I was quite fed up by eating the same boring laddoos every day and tried a quick and simple phirni recipe with basic ingredients. Phirni being rich and creamy rice pudding is liked a lot by many Indian families. My folks are fond of it and every celebration in my family ends up with this dessert. Though it is simple to make but one needs to be a little careful to avoid a mess. It is one of the most versatile desserts and is open to many flavors like kesar, mango, carrot, strawberry, etc.

Yesterday after opening the fridge, I found a hell lot of carrots and thus I decided to use them and make a scrumptious dessert. Carrots are rich sources of nutrients and give a lovely bright color to any dish. Carrot phirni can also be made for babies as it takes care of the nutritional needs of the child. Carrot phirni joined my dessert menu long back and now I would like to share with you.

Ingredients:

1. ¼ cup of rice
2. 1-liter full cream milk
3. 3 big carrots peeled, grated and boiled
4. ½ cup of sugar
5. 2-3 tbsp milkmaid
6. 3 tbsp cashew chopped
7. 3 cardamoms
8. 4-5 almonds chopped
9. 4-5 pistachio chopped
10. A pinch of nutmeg
11. Few strands of saffron
12. 2 tsp ghee

Method:

1. Soak saffron in 2 tbsp warm milk.
2. Soak rice in water for about an hour. Drain the rice and grind it to a slightly coarse paste. Add boiled carrots and grind to a smooth paste. Don’t make it a smooth paste; try to keep it a little coarse paste to give it a nice texture.
3. Heat ghee in a pan and add cashew nuts until they turn golden brown.
4. Heat milk in a thick bottom pan, when it starts bubbling, simmer the heat. Add slowly the carrot and rice paste and stir continuously.
5. Now add sugar and milkmaid and stir it till it forms a thick mixture. It will take approximately 8-10 minutes. Keep in mind to stir it continuously as you may end up forming lumps in the mixture.
6. Now add the saffron milk, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, and fried cashew nuts and mix it well. Once the mixture is thick, turn off the stove.
7. Pour the mixture into earthen pots and garnish it with silvered almonds and pistachios and saffron strands.
8. Allow them to cool and keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours and serve chilled.

Phirni can be eaten warm but chilled one taste better. I have tried phirnis with many alterations but carrot phirni is something which is healthy and can be enjoyed by adults also. You can happily replace carrots with mangoes, strawberries, blueberries or any other fruit of your choice. So ladies, try this version of phirni with a healthy twist and serve it to your loved ones.