Rice kheer / Chawal ka kheer

In my son's class last year, they were learning about the different festivals in India and each child was given one festival. The kids had to learn about it, wear clothes appropriate to that festival and give a presentation on it. They also had to carry something which is cooked specifically for that festival.

My little one had to give a presentation on Buddha Purnima. Thanks to Google, we did a whole lot of reading and even his dress turned out looking much nicer than I imagined. I dressed him up as a little Buddhist monk. For the food which he needed to take, after a lot of searching, I finally figured that on Buddha Purnima, they make an offering of rice kheer, since Buddha was offered rice and milk when he completed many days of fasting in the forest.



This was my first time with rice kheer. I usually make the simple seviya kheer, or payasam, the South Indian way. Got this recipe from my friend. She asked me to use only milk, but I was really running short on time, so made it with condensed milk.

His presentation went off fantastically and the kheer was a big hit. Some kids requested for it again, so its been made many times now.

Rice kheer / Chawal ka kheer

What you need -

3-4 tbsp Basmati long grained rice
1 litre milk
1/2 can condensed milk
1/2 tsp saffron
1 tbsp warm milk to soak the saffron
5-6 almonds
7-8 raisins
3-4 cardamoms

What you do with it -

Wash the rice and soak it in water for about 10 mins
Soak the saffron threads in the one tbsp of warm milk and keep aside
Crush the cardamom seeds to a fine powder
Blanch the almonds in hot water for 15 mins. Peel the skin off the almonds and cut into slivers
In a non-stick pan, add the milk and bring it to boil
Add the rice and lower the flame. Stir well at regular intervals
You need to do this till the rice is cooked, but not breaking apart
Once the rice is cooked, add the condensed milk. There is no need to add sugar,unless you really want it sweeter
Add the saffron and raisins to this and stir well for another 3-4 mins
Take it off the heat and garnish with slivered almonds and powdered cardamom
Serve hot or allow to chill completely.
The kheer thickens up quite a bit once its chilled. Add a few tbsps of milk and mix well if it gets too thick. Since my son doesn't like it too thick, I add about quarter cup of milk into this. Stir well so the the consistency is not affected