What Is Kheer
Kheer is the recipe for rice and milk. Small-size flavour-rich rice grains are cooked in milk till they become soft and smooth. Meanwhile, the presence of dry fruits makes it better in taste and cardamom gives it a more flavoury touch. Moreover, adding sugar makes a sweet pudding dessert with a mouth-watering taste.
History About Kheer Recipe
The first mention of kheer, which historians say was derived from the Sanskrit word kshirika (meaning a dish prepared with milk), is found during the fourteenth-century Padmavat of Gujarat. Achaya, kheer or payas, as it is known in southern India, was a popular dish in ancient India. First mentioned in ancient Indian literature, it was a mixture of rice, milk and sugar, a formula that has endured for over two thousand years.
Myths Value In India
Devotees take a holy dip in the river and pray to god for the happiness and prosperity of the family. They observe fast and prepare ‘Kheer’. It is also believed that on Sharad Purnima, Maa Lakshmi comes to the earth and blesses those who invoke her at night. It is a tradition to make kheer on the night of Sharad Purnima and keep it in the open sky. scientifically the logic behind this is that milk contains a lot of lactic acids. Because of this, the bright light of the moon helps in increasing the bacteria already present in milk.
Traditional Value
In India, when a newly born child starts the first time eating, then will begin eating with kheer. A newly married bride first time makes food for her in-laws. She begins with sweet kheer. Till here in Durga Pooja, kheer is distributed all over as “Prasadam“. In Chhath, a great holy festival in (Bihar) India, we also find kheer as prasad. Therefore the recipe kheer consists of spiritual values and traditional values in our life.
Let’s know about the making process of this sweet dish kheer.
Kheer Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 liter Milk
- 100 gram Rice ( govindbhog)
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 2 tbsp Dry fruits
- 2 pieces Cardamom
- 1 pinch saffron 14 to 16 saffron strands
Instructions
- To make this sweet recipe first we take a heavy bottom kadahi and heat it well. Then pour one teaspoon of ghee into kadahi and heat it on low flame.
- After heating this pour finely chopped dry fruits in it. Stir it carefully and fry it for appx. 1minutes. Now remove it from the heat and separate it from kadahi. Put it on the table.
- Now take a pan. Pour one-litre milk into this pan. Switch on the flame and place it upon the gas. Heat it well on medium flame till it boiled and thickly condensed.
- At the same time take another pan. pour rice in it and wash well. Now strain out the rice from excess water and keep it in lukewarm water for some time.
- When the milk gets to boil, then pour this rice into the milk. Now shimmer the gas. We see that the rice is cooked in milk slowly and this recipe's aroma is heart-touching. Stir them regularly with a spoon after waiting a few minutes.
- In case of a less liquid consistency, we add two cups of water in it and stir from below the pan. Carefully stir it to continue and cook on medium-low flame.
- Mind that the mixture could not gather in the bottom and not touch the bottom of the pot. This time is the burning condition of the kheer recipe. It gives a bad smell and loss of the actual taste of this recipe. So carefully cook them and stir well.
- After sometimes, when the rice gets soft and smooth then add crushed cardamom, saffron and fried dry fruits in it. Now at the last add sugar and stir well for about five minutes.
- The sugar is caramelised with kheer mixture and gives a sweet taste. Now remove this pan from the heat and we can garnish it with small chopped cherries.
- It gives a separate look at this fabulous recipe. Put this kheer-filled pan for fifteen minutes under the fan.
- Now put it in the refrigerator for the cooling process and at last, after cooling we get the condensed thick consistency of this recipe.
- Now serve it on a serving plate and enjoy this flavourful, fantastic, sweet kheer ….. Enjoy with your family & friends.
Notes
- Preferably use govindbhog or basmati rice for that fragrant aroma.
- Amount of dry fruits, nuts and sugar can be adjusted as per your taste. You can add your preferred nuts and dry fruits to the kheer.
Frequently Asked Question
Rice present in kheer contains a good amount of starch which helps in improving gut health and also reduces inflammation too. Rice kheer is rich in carbohydrates that help in bringing back glycogen while doing heavy exercises.
Flavoring the Kheer:
1. Rose Water: a splash of rose water goes a long way in giving the kheer that flowery aroma.
2. Saffron
3. Nuts: I personally love nuts in my kheer.
4. Kewra essence: is an extract distilled from pandanus flowers and used to flavor lot of Indian dishes and desserts.
Etymology. The word kheer is derived from the Sanskrit word for milk, ksheer (क्षीर). Kheer is also the archaic name for sweet rice pudding.
