Kheer or Rice Kheer Recipe - Chawal ki Kheer or Rice Pudding
If we take a bird’s eye view, Kheer is a North Indian cardamom rice pudding. And, Rice kheer is not just any rice pudding in which you quickly cook rice in sweet milk and sweep the sweat from your forehead. And, then pitch your spatula in the air in hurrah.
It is a very popular sweet dish and a kind of wet rice & milk pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent. It is usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur wheat, millet, tapioca, vermicelli, or sweet corn.
Extremely luscious in taste, it is very easy to make. Though, people in different regions & religions of the subcontinent make it on various occasions and in different ways.
Rice Kheer recipe is slowly cooked for a couple of hours in reduced & sweetened milk under strict supervision. It’s infused with cardamom. It’s stirred with care.
It is the labour of love when you have to scrub the brown bits stuck to the bottom of your stainless steel pot later because the milk will catch at the bottom.
Chawal ki Kheer, just like gajar ka halwa, is all about your emotions and love for your family. And, it is almost made on all special events like weddings, family get-togethers, and birthdays.
Rudimentary Base of Rice Kheer Recipe
Rice kheer recipe, chawal ki kheer
At the base of kheer is a very simple recipe that uses only four (4) ingredients. Kheer is basically a rich, Indian rice pudding that has been scented with delicate spices. Recipes for kheer are many and varied, but they all share the same foundation: whole fat milk that has been reduced, rice, sugar, and – you guessed it – cardamom!
And, once you’ve mastered the base, you can change it up in a million different ways. You can also add any of your favourite nuts and dry fruits. You maybe swap the ground cardamom for ground cinnamon and even throw in a splash of maple syrup? Possibilities for this enamouring rice pudding are only limited by your imagination.
My recipe calls for more than the basic (four) 4 ingredients but those are all add-ons. Do use them as they will add an enriched flavour to the dessert. It is a quick and easy, rich and classic, fuss-free recipe.
It is the perfect dish to celebrate a festival or any joy or just cook it up as an after-meal dessert at home. So, if you are looking for the easiest dessert or sweet recipe for any special occasion, get-together, or to surprise your loved ones on a romantic date or otherwise, then this recipe is what you should try.
Kheer Variations
Kheer variations can be replacing with broken wheat, tapioca, or vermicelli with milk and sugar. It is flavoured with cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashews, pistachios or almonds. I add all of these to rice in my recipe and it comes out delicious.
Chawal ki kheer or this Indian rice pudding can be made in two different ways – one where the milk is simmered till it thickens and forms a rabri like base; and this one where the milk is thickened with condensed milk which also sweetens the kheer.
Fragrant basmati rice simmered in whole milk sweetened with sugar and flavoured with green cardamom powder, garnished with slivered almonds, cashews, raisins and lightly roasted whole pistachio nuts. All of this together makes for this delicious recipe that will be joyous for all in the family.
Can I Make This Recipe Vegan?
Yes, definitely! Simply replace the usual milk with almond and it’ll come out as delicious. Next time, end your Indian meal with this rice pudding. Your taste buds will definitely thank you!
Just swap the regular milk with almond milk and it would taste just as good.
Kheer | Rice Kheer | Chawal Ki Kheer | Indian Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 Piece Rice
- 1 Piece Milk
- 1/4 Cup Sugar I used brown
- 1 Tablespoon Cardamom Powder
- 10 Piece Pistachios Chopped
- 10 Piece Cashew nuts Chopped
- 10 Piece Almonds Chopped
- 12 Piece Sultanas or Raisin Chopped or Snipped
- 1 Tablespoon Kewra Water
Instructions
- Get your ingredients ready.
- Clean half a cup of rice and soak it for an hour.
- Boil one cup of water in a heavy-bottomed pan and drain. This will keep milk from sticking to the pan.
- Add milk to the same pan and bring it to a boil.
- Take a couple of spoons of milk and soak saffron strands in it. Set aside.
- Simmer the heat and add the soaked rice.
- Keep stirring it so that the milk does not stick to the pan for about an hour and a half or till the milk thickens.
- Add the cardamom powder and kewra water now and mix well.
- Add the soaked saffron strands to the mixture and mix well.
- Incorporate the dry fruits (nuts) and raisins into the here. You can toast the nuts in a pan and then add so that they are more fragrant.
- Remove from the flame.
- Serve hot or cold.
Step by Step Recipe - How to make Chawal Ki Kheer?
Recipe Notes - Rice Kheer Recipe
- Use whole milk for the recipe. Whole milk makes it much creamier.
- Use rice with high starch content. If using basmati rice, use the broken basmati.
- Ensure that you soak the rice for an hour before making the kheer.
- Keep stirring at regular intervals. This will ensure that milk does not catch the pan.
- You can also add some rose water with the here. It will add to the floral aroma.
- You can refrigerate it for 4-5 days. As it chills, it thickens in consistency because more milk is absorbed by the rice. You can thin it by adding more milk to it before serving.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this dessert either hot, just off the stove or chilled.
FINALLY, TO SUM IT UP
Rice kheer recipe, chawal ki kheer
Kheer or Rice Kheer is a generous jadoo ki jhappi in a bowl. Kheer is a must-have in Punjabi homes – both by tradition and it’s luscious creaminess. Eating kheer as a dessert after meals is like bringing a rice pudding to a family celebration on your dining table.
If we take a bird’s eye view, this recipe is a North Indian cardamom rice pudding. And, it is not just any rice pudding in which you quickly cook rice in sweet milk and sweep the sweat from your forehead. And, then pitch your spatula in the air in hurrah.
It is a very popular sweet dish and a kind of wet rice & milk pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent. It is usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur wheat, millet, tapioca, vermicelli, or sweet corn.
Extremely luscious in taste, it is very easy to make. Though, people in different regions & religions of the subcontinent make it on various occasions and in different ways.
If you are looking for the easiest dessert or sweet recipe for any special occasion, get-together, or to surprise your loved ones on a romantic date, then this recipe is what you should try.
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