Kheer - Pink Saturday

Ingredients for Kheer



Kheer - An Indian and Nepalese Rice Pudding



A Namaste for Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Kheer, the Indian version of rice pudding, was offered at the end of every evening meal Bob and I had while in India and Nepal. It's a very simple preparation of rice and milk that's flavored with a few spices and cooked down to thicken the mixture to a pudding-like consistency. It lacks the custard quality of its American cousin and can often be almost soupy. It is a very popular dessert and no wedding or festival in India or Nepal would be complete without it. It, fortunately, is very easy to prepare and it's a great dish for a novice cook or one who is just beginning to explore the wonders of Indian cooking. There are literally hundreds of recipes available for kheer. Each region of India or Nepal has a version all its own and families within those areas further modify the recipes to suit their tastes and pocketbooks. The version I'm sharing with you is one I was taught while in India and it's barebones easy to do. You'll find other, more sophisticated, versions of the dish in the recommendations found at the bottom of the this post. I hope you'll give kheer a try. Here's how to make a very simple version of Indian rice pudding.

Kheer...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Basmati rice
1 tablespoon ghee
6 cups milk
10 tablespoons sugar
A few strands of saffron
1 teaspoon golden raisins
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup cashews or almonds or pistachios (thinly sliced)

Directions:
1) Soak rice in water for 30 minutes before cooking. Drain.
2) Melt ghee in a large pan. Add rice and saute until translucent.
3) Add milk to rice and simmer until liquid has been reduced by half.
4) Stir in sugar and saffron and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add raisins, nuts and cardamom and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and serve warm or cold. Yield: 4 -6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Watermelon, Sago and Carrot Kheer - Priya's Easy N' Tasty Recipes
Sweet Potato Kheer - Food for Thought
Firni: Rice Pudding with Saffron and Nuts - eCurry
Badam Kheer - Sounds Spicy
Pressure Cooker Payasam (Kheer) - Niya's World
Carrot Kheer - Maria's Menu

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.