Kheer - A Traditional Indian Dessert
Creamy Rice Kheer, also known as Indian Rice Pudding, is made with 3 simple ingredients: sugar, rice, and milk. It is the quintessential Indian dessert that every Indian child grows up eating. You can flavor it with cardamom, nuts, rose water or saffron to give it a little extra excitement. I like to add cinnamon and clove to mine to spice it up a bit and I also use Maple Syrup instead of sugar for sweetener. I also like to make mine plant-based or vegan, which is very simple to do and very tasty!
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup White Basmati Rice
1 teaspoon Ghee - Or use Coconut Oil or Avocado Oil as a Vegan Substitute
3-4 green Cardamom pods slightly crushed
3 - 4 whole Cloves or Cinnamon sticks (optional)
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon (optional)
1 liter Whole Milk - Or use Coconut Milk / Cashew Milk as a Vegan Substitute
4-5 tablespoons Sugar or 2 tablespoons of Maple Syrup - adjust to taste
3 tablespoons chopped nuts: Cashews, Almond slices, Pistachio or Raisins (optional)
a pinch of Saffron or 1.5 teaspoons Rose Water (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
First, rinse and then soak the rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Once it has soaked for around 30 minutes, drain the rice using a colander and set aside. White Basmati rice is best, but you can use any other rice as well.
Next, heat the pot on medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of ghee or coconut oil to the pot and add the now drained rice. Also add 3-4 crushed green cardamom pods, or clove or cinnamon sticks if you are using these spices.
Stir the rice with the ghee and cardamom for 1 to 2 minutes
Add the milk to the pan and stir well. Set heat to medium-high.
Let the milk come to a boil (this will take around 10-12 minutes) and immediately reduce heat. Continue to stir the rice-milk mixture so that milk doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot while waiting for the milk to boil.
Once you have reduced the heat to a low temperature, let the kheer cook for around 30 minutes on low heat. Continue to stir the mixture every few minutes. The milk will reduce considerably after 30 minutes and the kheer would look thick and the rice will be completely cooked.
If you want super thick kheer, cook for 15 more minutes at this point.
Add in the sugar or maple syrup and mix together
If you like, you can add cashews or sliced almonds or raisins.
Cook the kheer for 5 more minutes after adding the sugar / syrup / nuts. If you are using granulated sugar, it should be completely dissolved before removing from the heat. Don’t worry if your kheer doesn’t look very thick at this point, as it will continue to thicken as it cools down.
Remove the mixture from the heat. Stir in rose water or saffron (if using) or ground cinnamon. You can garnish with more nuts and serve kheer warm or chilled. If you want a delicious thick cold dessert rice pudding, allow it to chill for 4 to 5 hours before serving.
