Ingredients:
- 1 litre Milk (Full cream)
- 1/4 cup short grain Basmati rice (soaked for a few hours)
- 1/4 cup sugar + 1/8 cup more if needed
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder (Elachie)
- a few strands of saffron
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 2 tbsp almonds (Soaked for 4-5 hours)
- pistachio to garnish in the end.
Method:
- Use a thick bottomed pan and add a little water (2 tbs).
- Adding water to the pan before boiling milk reduces the chance of the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Add milk to the pan and boil it.
- After it comes to a boil add the rice.
- Short grain rice is preferable for use in kheer as they get mixed uniformly resulting in a thicker kheer.
- Soak the saffron strands in 2 tbs milk in a separate bowl.
- After giving rice and milk mixture a boil reduce the gas flame to low and let it simmer for 1/2 hour.
- Rice kheer should always be cooked on low gas flame.
- It tastes much better this way and there is less chance of it sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Keep on stirring in between and after 30 minutes the kheer will be thick and rice grains would be very soft.
- Add sugar (gur), cardamom powder, saffron and washed raisins to the mixture and give it another boil.
- After 5 minutes switch off the flame. Let the kheer cool.
- Remove the skin of soaked almonds.
- Garnish the Kheer with pistachio and almond slivers.
- You can use almonds without soaking as well. (Do note pistachios and almonds are optional as these items are a luxury and expensive).
