FOOD AND TRAVEL

Friday, April 2, 2010

Kheer - The Indian Rice Pudding


All over India, there are so many different ways of making rice pudding. South Indians make a version of it called payasam, which I adore. Its can contain either rice, vermecilli or lentils or a mix. Coming to the north of India, there is a basic Kheer recipe which is infamous. Every other home makes kheer.

Growing up, kheer was always my favorite Indian dessert even though I was not so much into Indian sweets. During the making (almost starting to thicken), I would every now  then enter the kitchen, grab a spoon, spoon the kheer and eat. I would keep tasting the kheer till it reaches the final stage. Then eat a bowl full. And when the kheer was over, I would scrap the dark bottom of the utensil, where a layer of dark caramelized rice and milk forms. Oh! and if if if there were any left overs it won't last till the next day.

If you are watching your diet, its time to stop reading and go to the gym.
If you still reading, TRY THIS.

Kheer Puri
Serves : I have no idea honestly! I don't know how much I had myself.

Ingredients
For Kheer
2 litre Fresh Whole Milk
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 cup sugar
2-3 pods of Cardamom
Mix of nuts (pistachio and almond)
A pinch or two of  Saffron


Method
Start with the kheer so that by the time the kheer is ready so is your puri. Soak rice for half an hour. Drain the water completely and grind the rice with 2-3 quick pulse. We don't want to make a rice powder, just break the rice into almost sand like granules. Start with bringing 2 litres of milk to a boil . Once the milk comes to a boil, reduce the flame to keep it at slow simmer and add the rice, saffron and cardamom. Make sure to use a deep bottom pan.


Basically thats it. All you need to do now is keep an eye on the milk and keep stirring it at intervals of 5-6 minutes for next 30 -40 minutes.
The milk will start to thicken after 15 minutes. This is the time to add the sugar.

Adding the saffron at the beggining  helps to realise all its wonderful aroma, flavor and color. See how wonderfully pale yellow the kheer is by the time it is done.

Kheer is done when it doesn't run off the spoon. But it should be thin enough that if you banged the spoon most of  the kheer would be down. Ah? Do you get me ?
 So thats that. Chop the nuts roughly and keep aside for garnishing.

Kheer can be served cold, hot or at room temperature. But I suggest with puri's they are best served warm. Kheer keeps very well, infact it tastes better after a day or two. 

Puri is a deep fried crisp yet soft, made with dough comprising of flour and water. Its highly versatile as it goes very well with both savoury and sweet dishes. The puri's didn't puff up really well (though they tasted supercilious), some did others didn't.I'll post the recipe once I get that right!
Enjoy! All those calories, followed by guilt and then a run to the gym, ITS ALL WORTH IT!
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7 comments

  1. I LOVE kheer. So simple, but so delicious!
    Hey, for the puri that you made you used "sooji". What exactly is that, and what could we use as a substitute? I've been craving pani puri lately but need a good puri!

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  2. Tina! I LOVE PANI PURI! but then which Indian doesn't? I make them atleast once a month.I would totally make it every other week if not for deep frying of puris.

    And...What was I thinking when I wrote "sooji".Thanks for bringing that to my notice. Anyway its also called "rava" which basically refers to fine semolina which you can get in plenty I'm sure. If you have good access to an asian store, it could be packaged as Rava or Sooji or Indian semolina. You could use any other semolina provided its fine. And sooji is a must use for a crispy puris so don't miss it.
    I'm sure you won't need a substitute but if you do "cornmeal" should work good.

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  3. i lov kheer and the pics so nice!

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  4. Wonderful recipe!
    "And when the kheer was over, I would scrap the dark bottom of the utensil, where a layer of dark caramelized rice and milk forms." This reminded me of my mom,hehe,she does the same,calls that bottom layer 'khurchan'.

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  5. This looks good. I've just been thinking about making rice pudding. Sounds like a yummy recipe!

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  6. Very solid recipe and delicious outcome. Highly recommend it.

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  7. Can one use Turmeric instead of Saffron

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