Often, she would reply ‘Yes, we have kheer/halwa/sawaiyan/gajrela/xyz Desi dessert in the fridge’ and I would sigh, wishing there was a decadent slice of chocolate cake waiting for me instead. I still would like a decadent slice of chocolate cake, mind you, but now a serving of kheer magically sounds a lot more appealing than it did before. In fact, sometimes, a hot bowl of kheer becomes a raging craving on a rainy day. I think this maturing in taste buds is a rite of passage - a part of growing up. It sometimes gets you by surprise. You’ll be on your own on a Friday night after work and can order out ANYTHING that comes to mind - but all you want is a plate of chicken curry, or a bowl of kheer. It’s an amazing yet humbling thing. I’m certain I’m not the only one who has learnt just how amazing the food of their own culture is after they left home.
Amongst many things, marriage and growing up in general has taught me that desi desserts take much longer and more effort than other desserts I’ve made in the past. Often, they use litres of milk, condensed down into small portions to give an utterly rich and creamy taste. This takes a lot of time and A LOT of stirring. Cream, evaporated milk or khoya is also used in many recipes. For this kheer, I’ve written down the simple route, using only milk and sugar. Some people also use saffron, vanilla, cinnamon etc for a kick of flavour. Those variations all taste fantastic, but today I’d like to share with you the classic, basic and simple elaichi (cardamom) flavoured kheer I’ve grown up eating.
What is Kheer? How is it made?
Kheer is generally what’s known as rice pudding in India and Pakistan. It’s a classic Desi dessert made with loads of milk slowly simmered down into a cream alongside rice and sugar. A variation of this dessert is gajar ki kheer, which is rice pudding cooked with grated carrots - think a cross between regular kheer and gajar ka halwa! It’s very similar to another dessert called firni. The only difference between kheer and firni is that kheer is made with whole grains of rice, whereas firni is made with ground rice and is therefore smoother.
What makes a good Kheer?
LOADS of milky, creamy goodness. This is NOT the time to be using skim milk! Get in there with the good stuff, the full fat milk! The texture of the rice kheer should be that of lightly mashed rice. The rice shouldn’t be completely intact, but it also shouldn’t be complete baby food mush. Something in the middle A strong hit of cardamom flavour is, in my opinion, the hallmark of kheer A heavy garnishing of crunchy nuts before serving
Do I need to use condensed milk, powdered milk or cream in Kheer?
Condensed milk is often used in kheer recipes. So are other milk-type products, such as milk powder or cream. The reason these are used is because cooking down fresh milk takes a LONG time - these aids give you that creamy flavour and texture without spending all those hours. If you would like to save time, you can totally omit some of the milk and replace it with cream, powdered milk or condensed milk. If you use condensed milk, you’ll need to reduce the amount of sugar used. I can’t give you any quantities for all these, you will need to guestimate, sorry! Additionally, if you are fine with the cook time but would like to make your kheer EXTRA creamy and rich, feel free to add some of the aforementioned add-ons alongside the rest of the recipe!
Additional tips
These tips are in no particular order, but all good pointers to keep in mind
Your kheer will need constant attention and stirring, Ideally, you won’t leave the kitchen during this time… UNLESS you cook this in a slow cooker! Then, my friend, you are good as gold. Pop everything into the slow cooker and let it do its thang (I can’t give you an exact time frame, I’m afraid, but I’ve made it lots of times so I know it definitely works) If in the unfortunate event that you manage to burn your kheer, then first of all, I’m sorry. I know the pain. Second of all, turn the heat off immediately and scoop up all the unburnt, soft rice and whatever else you can salvage and place it all into another pot. Do not under any circumstances try to fix things by mixing everything up and scraping the bottom of the pot. It will not work! The burnt bits will mix into the rest of the kheer and it will all taste burnt. It will be completely unfixable by that point. Basmati rice is my choice of rice for this recipe. It just tastes authentic, ya know? I definitely would NOT recommend any kind of sella rice as sella is known to be very difficult to break. We want some breakage, therefore it’s a no from me To ensure your nuts are crisp and crunchy, make sure they are crisp and crunchy before you chop and add them. Sometimes nuts will have gone a little stale in their packages without us checking and it doesn’t really make for a great garnish. Also, make sure you only add in the nuts just before serving otherwise they will take on some of the moisture from the milk and soften. Finally, if you’ll be serving the kheer cold, then only add the nuts when the kheer is chilled Your pot will be HORRIBLE to clean after this. There will be so much milk residue stuck to the pot base and man, it could make me cry thinking about trying to scour all that gunk off. The only way to make it less horrible will be to soak it in water immediately after emptying the pot and letting it sit for a while. It helps loosen the milk and reduce the scrubbing you’ll have to do
Sometimes, a craving for something sweet and rich comes on strong and a bar of chocolate or a piece of fruit won’t do. Sometimes, you want to make dessert but don’t want to put in a lot of thought. You want to go through some simple motions, your mind pondering over other thoughts, and say ’ta-dah! Dessert is ready.’ Sometimes, it’s nice to make something fancy and wow other people, but at other times you still want that ‘wow’ reaction but without a messy kitchen and sink full of dishes to boot. Sometimes, you just want a one-pot, no-fail recipe. Sometimes, you just want a comforting, warm hug in the form of a more-ish, luxurious bowl of dessert. All of this, and more, can come in the form of kheer. Enjoy, with love
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