Dryfruit Kheer

 Kheer, Payasam , Payesh , Payasa are different names used in various parts of India to refer to a delicious, creamy and rich milk based dessert.

Be it a festival or any happy occasion like birthday, wedding , new birth in the family or any achievement, we Indians love to celebrate it with a sweet dish which is most often the kheer.

If you may wonder why kheer is so famous , it is because it primarily uses only 3 basic ingredients rice , sugar and milk and most often these 3 ingredients are part of every kitchen and can be made easily without any effort.  Of course we can add on extra flavors like cardamom, dry fruits, saffron, rose or Kewra essence etc which gives more taste and richness to the basic kheer.

There are so many varieties of kheer that are prepared across the length and breadth of India and if we start preparing each variant everyday I am sure even 365 days will be less.

This week we are having Milk Special on FMBH as our theme and with the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations coinciding with our theme how can I miss making kheer for our beloved Gannu and here it is ..for him and for you all as well. 

This time for prasad I made this delicious dry fruit kheer and offered it to Lord Ganesha .I must really thank Swaty who suggested this theme for the coming week and my favorite kheer recipe gets blogged today . Though I make this kheer very frequently,it somehow never made it to the blog .  You must head over to Swaty's  blog ;"Food Trails" and check out her vast collection of recipes from cuisines world over.  Her food clicks are droolworthy and very nicely framed . I am excited to try her Shahi Paneer Kofta Curry which will be a super hit in my home as hubby is a die hard fan of paneer.

Traditionally, rice is cooked in milk and it takes a while for rice and milk to simmer and reach a thick consistency.  This time around I was a little behind schedule and did not have much time to go about with the slow cooking method, hence I have used pre cooked rice and simmered it in milk and the final result was just like the traditional method. So you definitely can go about and try this fail proof method for a delectable and creamy kheer .

Kheer is such a delicacy which tastes delicious when it is warm but some like it when served chilled . I prefer warm kheer or paysam personally. 

As I was preparing it for prasad , I cooked the rice separately and also used a fresh packet of milk . 

Some traditional, tasty and lipsmacking payasam/ kheer recipes on my blog for you to try

• Semia Paysam (vermicelli/sevayyan kheer) 
• Paal Paysam  (traditional kerala style) 
• Gass Gasse Payasa (poppy seeds kheer) 
• Basundi
• Rava Paysam 
• Aval (poha) Paysam 
• Akki Kadlebele Payasa (rice channa dhall kheer)
• Carrot Kheer 

Preparation Time - 25 mins
Cooking Time - 30 mins
Complexity - easy 
Serves - 2 to 4

Ingredients 

500ml milk 

3 tablespoons cooked rice 

Assorted dry fruits chopped (badam , pista, cashews )

100 gms Sugar  (adjust as per your taste)

1tsp cardamom /elaichi powder

Few strands of saffron/kesar 

Method 

• Boil the milk in a thick bottomed vessel . The vessel needs to have a thick bottom so that the milk doesn't stick to the bottom and starts burning.  
• Take about 2 tablespoons of this warm milk and soak the saffron strands in it and set aside.  This will release all the flavors of saffron along with a nice yellow color. 
• Once the milk reaches a boiling stage, add in the cooked rice and on a slow flame keep simmering the milk with regular stirring until the milk begins to thicken and reduce in quantity. 
• Add the chopped dryfruits , saffron soaked milk , cardamom powder and sugar and continue stirring.
• After adding sugar, the kheer will turn slightly watery as the sugar melts. Keep stirring on low flame and after about  8 to 10 mins the kheer would reach a nice creamy consistency. 
• You can switch it off at the stage and let it settle down for a while. 
• Over time on cooling the kheer will thicken further . So if you want it to be little diluted, you can add warm milk before serving and adjust the consistency as you may like it .
• You can also add some rose or kewra essence if you like that flavor . I donot add any essence as the flavor of cardamom and saffron itself is very delectable. 
• If you want to try the Vegan version of Dry fruit kheer then check the recipe here .

Linking this to week #261 milkyway theme on foodie Monday bloghop