Vegan Carrot Kheer

The lock down continues. We are holed up but life goes on.  A good chunk of April is gone. Cherry blossoms came and went. It must be time for Tulips now. Parrot green young leaves are shooting their way out of their winter slumber. It is as if mother earth patiently waited all these months for this warm window to come out and begin her dainty dance.

The grocery situation seems to have eased a bit, or it might just be that people have accepted that this is the new normal and are planning accordingly. We will not know. From the era of social media to that of social distancing, the hill has been too steep. Do I miss the interaction? Not really, video calling family and friends help. Do I miss weekly grocery shopping and maintaining a tight control over the pantry/refrigerator inventory? Yes I do.This stocking up canned vegetables and non-perishables is just not me. I am eagerly waiting to get back to the days of weekly grocery planning and fresh vegetables.

There is one upside to this lock down. I don't remember the last time family has been home this long. Sometimes it gets too much. It is then that I think of the families of 33,000+  people here in USA and 4000+ people in NJ and many more worldwide, who probably will do anything to get their loved ones homes, but cannot.

With the family home, food follows naturally. It so happens that in stressful situations, we naturally seek comfort, be it comfort food, company or comforts of the familiar. Here we are seeking comfort in food as well. Nothing soothes my soul like desserts and sweet dishes. Here is a warm cup of carrot kheer. It is rich and just sweet enough to warm my soul. It is easy and scales up easily.

Here we go. We will need,

Carrots (washed and peeled) 3 big
Cashews raw 12-15
Sugar 2-4 tbsps
Salt a tiny pinch
Nutmeg powder  or saffron or cardamon powder a scant pinch

Method;

• Chop the carrots roughly and combine it with the cashews in a pressure cooker along with 2 cups of water. Cook on medium heat till one whistle. Remove from heat and let the pressure cooker cool.
• Once it is cool enough to handle,  transfer the carrot mixture to a blender and blend till smooth. Alternately, a hand blender can be used as well. Transfer back to the pot and heat it gently.
• Stir in sugar a tablespoon at one time, stir , taste and add more if necessary. There are times when I had to stop at the second tablespoon of sugar because the carrots were super sweet. And then there are times when I had to go all the way to 4 tbsp because the carrots were bland. Typically, if they are in season, they are super sweet. 
• Add the pinch of salt and stir. Add up to another cup of water if the kheer is too thick. It should be drinkable but still creamy and rich. Once the kheer comes up to a gentle boil, remove from heat and throw in the spice (any one of nutmeg, saffron ,cardamon). Enjoy it warm. 
• It can also be refrigerated and served chilled. If refrigerating, go for a thinner consistency, it tend to get thicker sitting in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy.