Carrot Cashew Payasam

It is my parents and my husband’s parents wedding anniversary this week – so I would like to atleast share this delicious sweet treat on the website and show my gratitude to the mums who I owe so much for the interest and passion in cooking that I have today.   It is impossible to “dish” it out to them given the geographical distance that physcially separates us!!! so here go………

Did you know that only a small percentage of beta carotene is released in raw carrots and more released when you cook or boil the carrots?   Carrots are rich in fibre and antioxidants. They can be eaten raw as in salads, boiled and cooked as in soups and various dishes including indian curry and dessert dishes like the famous carrot or gajar halwa…

This dish has a slight variance prepared with grated and cooked carrots with a crunch to it by adding the exotic cashew nut!!  Cashew Nuts are invariably used in garnishing of sweet treats in Indian Cuisine.  Roasted and slightly salted Cashew Nuts are quite popular as a snack.   Soaked and ground raw cashew nuts are used in the preparation of some exotic dishes like korma or as in this fabulous payasam dish!!!!!!!!

Ingredients for 10 serves

Handful Raw Cashew Nuts
½ Cup Water
2 Medium Sized Carrots (Peeled)
150 ml Fresh Cream
8 Cups Fresh Milk
1½ – 2 Cups Sugar
1-2 Tsp Cardamom Powder
A few strands of Saffron

Preparation

Grate the peeled carrots, microwave  for 4-5 minutes on high and keep aside
Soak the cashew nuts for about 10 minutes in the half cup of water
Grind half the quantity of the cooked grated carrots and the cashew nuts it into a slightly coarse mixture
In the meantime, bring the milk to the boil in a large pot, add the fresh cream and sugar
Reduce the flame and let it boil for about 10 minutes
Stir through the remainder of the cooked grated carrots, cashew nut mixture, the few strands of saffron and let it simmer for a further 10 -15 minutes
Turn the heat off and add the cardamom powder

The Payasam is ready to be served cooled or warm.

Note: The carrot cashew combination is not only flavoursome but adds a great colour and  varation  to the dish.
My preference is to have the cooked grated carrots, floating in the payasam as it adds an intermittent granular texture to the dish as well!! You may reduce the quantity of milk and substitute it with 125 grams of condensed milk!

 

Comments

  1. revathi raghunatha says:

    hi shoba, Just went through your recipies. want to eat the gajar halwa straight away. Just a suggestion, the halwa will be even more tasty if you use a tin of condensed milk. It gives that special flavour. will keep in touch with your recipies.

    avocado chutney also looks very mouth watering. only , we dont get avocadoes very often in chennai
    bye
    revathi

     
    • Shobha Krishnan says:

      Hi Revathi
      Thanks for taking the time to browse through CWS website – much appreciate your input as well –
      Revathi, with most people being health conscious, you will see that I have added it as a “note” at the bottom of the recipe mentioning that more condensed milk can be used and ofcourse the amount of sugar has to be decreased to suit to individual’s palate!!