Rice Kheer / Kheer / Rice Pudding is classical and traditional dessert that is creamy and incredibly delicious. It is famous across India and is made during festivals and traditional ceremonies. However, Rice Kheer is perfect to have it with a meal or as a dessert after lunch or dinner. It is straightforward to prepare and requires very few ingredients.
About Rice Kheer
Kheer is equally prevalent throughout India. It has been a part of the Indian dessert since ancient times, and Rice Kheer is also mentioned in ancient Indian scriptures.
It is often made in every Indian household, and I also grew up eating this dessert regularly. My mom used to make it even without any occasion. Kheer was often a part of our regular meal. And now it’s my son’s favorite too, and I usually make it for a dessert after a hearty dinner.
Rice Kheer or Rice Pudding is a simple dish with excellent taste. The festivals are around the corner, and I realized I didn’t share this recipe yet. However, I have already posted a Paneer Kheer recipe that is equally delicious as Rice Kheer.
Ingredients
Making Kheer is not only an easy recipe, but it also requires very few ingredients. We mainly need only milk, rice, and sugar to make Rice Kheer. We can add other elements to add some flavors to Rice Kheer.
- Milk: Milk is the base of this recipe. Use whole milk or full-fat milk. Please do not make the Kheer with low-fat milk, as it will not bring the necessary creaminess to this dessert. I often combine 2% milk with cream to make my Kheer thick and creamy. If you want to use 2% milk, replace half of the quantity with 10% cream.
- Rice: I will definitely recommend using Basmati rice to make this Rice Pudding. I have always made Kheer using Basmati rice, but you can also use another variety of white rice if you prefer. Once the rice is cooked, after adding it to the milk, mash some of the rice with the back of the spoon. It will ensure the even distribution of rice in the Kheer and will make Kheer thicker.
- Sugar: I have used organic cane sugar and added ½ cup of sugar, making the Kheer moderately sweet. You can add more or less sugar as per your preference. Also, you can use white regular sugar instead of cane sugar.
- Cardamom Powder: It provides a sweet and warm flavor to this Kheer. Green cardamom seeds and powder are widely used in Indian sweets and desserts. It gives an aromatic flavor and brings the dessert to a new height. You can skip it, but I highly recommend using cardamom powder.
- Saffron: My all-time favorite, saffron gives a beautiful color to the dessert and a flavor. However, using saffron is optional if you don’t have it on hand. I added saffron to the milk in the beginning and then started boiling the milk. That way, not only milk but rice also gets the saffron color.
- Nuts: I have used chopped almonds and pistachio in this Rice Kheer. But you can add any nuts of your choice. Cashews, pistachios, and almonds go well with the Kheer. Some like to roast the nuts into Ghee first and then add it to the Kheer. But because I don’t like Ghee in my Kheer, I have added raw nuts.
Step-by-Step Directions
Rinse the rice until water runs clear. Soak the rice in water and set aside.
Take milk and saffron strands into a thick bottom pan, heat, and bring it to a boil. Make sure to stir the milk at regular intervals to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
Drain the water completely from the rice and add it to the boiling milk.
Continue boiling the milk until the rice is cooked. Make sure to stir the milk and rice mixture continuously. Once the rice is cooked, mash some rice with the back of the spoon. Mashing the rice will make Kheer thicker.
After the rice is thoroughly cooked, add sugar, and mix well.
Continue boiling until sugar is completely dissolved and kheer starts to thicken again.
Once you get the desired thickness of the kheer, add cardamom powder and chopped nuts. Mix well and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add rose essence or Rosewater. Mix well. Rice Kheer will thicken further upon chilling.
Serve Rice Kheer warm or let it chill in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours and serve chilled Rice Kheer.
Serving Suggestions
We can relish warm Rice Kheer or chilled. I like chilled Kheer; it also thickens after being chilled. But really, it’s a personal preference, and either way, this Kheer tastes delicious.
When I was in India, we mostly make Kheer for lunch and serve it along with the meal. And of course, if there is any leftover, we savor it as a dessert after dinner. However, here, we can have only dinner together because of the work schedule. So I make Rice Kheer for dinner to have it along with the meal or as a dessert after dinner.
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Recipe Card
Rice Kheeer / Kheer / Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1.5 Litre full-fat milk
- 6 tablespoon basmati rice or rice of your choice
- ½ Cup sugar ((Add more or less as per sweet preference))
- Few strands of saffron
- 10 Almonds chopped
- 10 Pistachio chopped
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2-3 drops of rose essence or 1Tsp rosewater ((Optional))
Instructions
- Rinse the rice until water runs clear. Soak the rice in water and set aside.
- Take milk and saffron strands into a thick bottom pan, heat, and bring it to a boil. Make sure to stir the milk at regular intervals to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
- Drain the water completely from the rice and add it to the boiling milk.
- Continue boiling the milk until rice is cooked. It will take about 10-15 minutes. Make sure to stir the milk and rice mixture continuously. Once the rice is cooked, mash some rice with the back of the spoon. Mashing the rice will make Kheer thicker.
- After the rice is thoroughly cooked, add sugar, and mix well. Continue boiling until sugar is completely dissolved, and kheer starts to thicken again.
- Once you get the desired thickness of the kheer, add cardamom powder and chopped nuts. Mix well and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add rose essence or Rosewater. Mix well. Rice Kheer will thicken further upon chilling.
- Serve Rice Kheer warm or let it chill in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours and serve chilled Rice Kheer.
Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think.