Kheer is an Indian rice pudding eaten on high holy days and at feasts. It is a calming mix of gentle spice, milk, and rice, which I find especially good to eat at breakfast time. There is nothing more nourishing to my mind than milk and rice together—easy to eat and cleansing in the best possible sense of the word. I make a double batch of this and reheat it with a little extra milk on the following days; sometimes it's dessert too. Kheer is used in the Ayurvedic tradition to balance the system during the winter; the sweet cinnamon helps digestion, and the warmth of the rice and milk protects against any wintery cold.
I use brown rice here but white rice would be just as delicious. I suggest soaking the rice overnight—it is a two-minute job and will vastly speed up the cooking process. If you don't remember to do it overnight, then soaking it as long as you can will be OK. If saffron is a bridge too far for breakfast, then you can just leave it out; the other spices will hold up.
Recipe information
Yield
4 sevings
Ingredients
To serve:
Preparation
Step 1
Soak the rice in one bowl and the cashews and almonds in another in cold water for at least 30 minutes but ideally overnight.
Step 2
In the morning, drain the rice and put it into a saucepan with the milk and 2 cups (500 ml) of cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes at a gentle bubble until the rice has puffed up and the liquid is beginning to thicken.
Step 3
Meanwhile, drain the nuts and finely chop them—you can do this in a food processor if you like. Bash the cardamom pods in a mortar with a pestle, spice grinder, or mixing bowl with rolling pin and remove the fragrant seeds, then discard the pods and grind the seeds until you have a powder.
Step 4
After 20 minutes add the nuts, raisins, spices, and honey to the rice and cook for another 15 minutes until thick and creamy, somewhere between rice pudding and porridge. You want to reach the sweet spot where the rice is soft, with very little bite, and the kheer is creamy but not too thick. If it looks like it is thickening too fast, turn the heat down and add a little boiling water from the kettle. Serve spooned into bowls with the lime zest and coconut flakes on top; if you have a sweet tooth, you could add a little extra honey on top.
Recipe notes
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