Recipe

Kheer - Indian Rice Pudding

Kheer - Indian Rice Pudding

Photo by Heena

  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Pudding
  • Chef

    Heena's Notes: Kheer, if you want to get boring, is a form of rice pudding. But get a little adventurous and it can be so much more. The variations of flavors are endless – cardamom, nutmeg, saffron, cinnamon...

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Serves 6

4 tablespoons Basmati rice Ask a question about this ingredient

5 cups milk Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 vanilla bean Ask a question about this ingredient

Flavoring: a pinch of saffron or 1 teaspoon rose water or 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg Ask a question about this ingredient

1/3 cup slivered pistachios (or cashews/almonds) Ask a question about this ingredient

  1. Soak the rice in warm water for 30 mins. Drain the rice and grind coarsely using a mortar-and-pestle. (You can leave also leave the rice whole or grind using a processor.)

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  2. Pour the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds with a knife into the milk. Add the vanilla bean too. Bring the milk to a gentle boil. Take it off the heat and let steep for 30 mins. (If you don't want to use a vanilla bean, you can skip this step entirely.)

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  3. If using the saffron, soak the strands in 1 tablespoon of the warm milk.

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  4. Remove the vanilla bean and bring the milk back to a boil. Add drained rice and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally to ensure no lumps form. Continue until the rice is cooked. and the mixture reduces to one-third of the original volume. (Or reduces to the consistency you prefer. It takes 25-30 mins to reach the consistency I like; also remember, it will continue to thicken as it cools)

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  5. Add the sugar and mix well, cooking just until it dissolves.

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  6. Stir in the saffron milk/rose water/spices. Serve warm or chilled as you prefer garnished with the nuts.

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2 Comments on Kheer - Indian Rice Pudding

Reply

looks great! Is the rosewater very overwhelming w/ 2 whole tsp?

Sunshine_in_my_glass Reply

That was a typo - edited now. Thanks for the catch!

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Dan Soloway answered vanilla extract and cinnamon 10 months ago