Kheer Recipe (Indian Rice Pudding)
Kheer is a subtly sweet, creamy, and deliciously aromatic Indian dessert popular throughout India. I made this recipe using basmati rice, but jasmine rice would make a fantastic alternative.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 284kcal
Ingredients
- ¼ cup basmati rice - or other long-grain rice
- 4 cups milk - use whole milk for best creamiest results
- ¼ cup water
- 6 tablespoon granulated sugar - (reduce to 4 tablespoons for a less sweetened kheer)
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ cup cashews - chopped
- ¼ cup pistachios - chopped
- raisins or dried cranberries - to garnish
- 1 tablespoon ghee
Instructions
- Transfer the rice to a small bowl and fill with cold water. Drain the starchy water through a fine-mesh strainer. Repeat rinsing and draining until the water runs nearly clear. Drain completely.
- Add the water and milk to a large, heavy-bottomed pot set over high heat. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring often to prevent the milk from burning.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add the rice. Cook the rice, stirring often, until the rice is soft and completely cooked.
- Stir in the desired amount of sugar and cardamom powder. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the kheer has thickened to the desired consistency. (note - kheer will continue to thicken as it cools)
- In the last 5 minutes or so of cooking, stir in the nuts and raisins, if desired, or leave them out and add them as a garnish.
- Remove from heat and serve warm, or allow to cool and serve chilled.
Notes
- For best results, use whole milk to make this kheer recipe. Low-fat milk is too watery.
- Optional: add the ghee directly to your kheer after it's finished cooking or toast the cashew nuts in 1 tablespoon of ghee over medium heat until golden.
- To flavor your kheer with a bit of saffron, carefully crush your saffron threads and transfer to a small bowl filled with 2-3 tablespoons of warm milk. Mix to combine. Add it to the kheer after it has been cooking for approximately 25-30 minutes.
- If you don't have any ground cardamom, substitute using 2-3 whole green cardamom pods. Add them directly to the milk and rice when cooking. Remove before serving.
- Kheer is more like porridge in texture than it is pudding. It is not super thick, but it also shouldn't be super runny- somewhere in between.
Nutrition
Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 528mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 532IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 313mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @theforkedspoon and hashtag it #theforkedspoon and please leave your star rating in the comment section on this post.