Khiri or Rice Kheer or Indian Rice Pudding

This is the longest break I took from blogging. I joined back work, Baby D is now an active Preschooler and engaging me with ever rising curiosity. Above all, we’d yet another move, we moved back to Dallas. So many stories, so many adventures but I was never away from kitchen, not a single day. Cooking makes me happy, even on busiest days I never miss to cook. It’s just I didn’t have much time or patience to capture or document it. After moving to Dallas, I met with Richa, who motivated me for coming back to blogging. The occasion of Durga Puja got me into the Dessert mode. And my son cleared all doubts asking me : “Can we have Khiri?”.

Khiri or Kheer is the sweetened rice pudding, where the rice is slow cooked with milk, sweetened with Sugar, flavored with cardamom and garnished with nuts and dry fruits .

Here goes the simple yet classic recipe of Kheer or Khiri:

Ingredients of Khiri or Rice Kheer:

•  Fragrant rice – 1/4 cup, I used Kali Jeera variety, basmati can be used as well
• Whole milk or Full fat milk – 1/2 gallon (1.8 litres)
• Sugar – 1 cup
• Sweetened Condensed milk – 1/2 cup
• Cardamom pods – 3-4, crushed
• Ghee or Clarified Butter – 4 tbsp
• Cashews, Pistachios and Raisins for garnish

Steps of preparation for Khiri or Rice Kheer:

• Take a deep bottomed vessel.
• Heat the vessel with 2 tbsp of clarified butter or ghee.
• Wash and strain the rice. Add the rice to the ghee and fry it for some time, until the nutty flavor of the rice comes.
• Add one cup of water and cover it and cook until its 75% done.
• Then add the milk and stir.
• Keep stirring the milk for 20-25 mins in a medium flame, until the boil comes.
• Add the sugar and keep stirring for around more 30-35 mins.
• Then add the condensed milk and stir for around 20 mins.
• After the Khiri is made, switch off the flame.
• Take a small frying pan, add more 2 tbsp of ghee and add the nuts and dry fruits to toast it.
• Then add the nuts and dry fruits for garnish.

Serve the yummy Khiri or Rice Kheer in this festive season as a mandatory dessert. This classic dessert never goes wrong for the festive season.