Authentic, rich, and slow-simmered traditional Indian rice kheer made with full-fat milk, short-grain aromatic rice, sugar, cardamom, and roasted nuts.
- 50 g 1/4 cup aromatic short-grain rice (or broken basmati)
- 1 liter full-fat whole milk
- 75 g to 100 g 1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder freshly ground from 4–5 pods
- 10 –12 saffron strands steeped in 2 tbsp warm milk
- 1/2 tsp ghee for coating rice + 1 tsp ghee (for roasting nuts)
- 10 cashews split in halves
- 10 almonds blanched and slivered
- 1 tbsp chironji or raisins
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Prep Rice: Rinse rice until water is clear. Soak in water for 20 minutes; drain thoroughly. Coarsely crush half the soaked grains with your fingers. Toss with 1/2 tsp ghee.
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Boil Milk: Rinse a heavy-bottom pan with cold water. Add 1 liter whole milk; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
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Simmer Rice: Add the prepared rice to the boiling milk. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes and scraping down side cream.
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Test Tenderness: Scoop a few grains and crush between thumb and forefinger. They must yield smoothly with no hard center.
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Sweeten & Flavor: Add sugar, cardamom powder, and saffron-infused milk. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes until sugar dissolves and kheer re-thickens.
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Fry Nuts: In a small pan, heat 1 tsp ghee; fry cashews and almonds until golden. Add raisins for the final 20 seconds. Pour nuts, dried fruits, and hot ghee directly into the kheer.
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Finish: Turn off heat when the kheer lightly coats the back of a spoon. Serve warm or chill for 3 hours.
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Do not add sugar until rice grains pass the two-finger crush test; sugar halts starch gelatinization.
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If kheer thickens too much after cooling, stir in 1/4 cup warm milk to restore its creamy consistency.
Storage
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Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat on low flame with a splash of milk. Not suitable for freezing.