Wishing all my readers, a very happy "Tamil New Year "and "Vishu". No festival is fulfilled without kheers. Its an easy dessert and everyone's favourite too. I have made many kheers, but this stays very close to my heart. When we were in MN, for a New Year potluck,we planned for a "Kheer Competition". We got almost 6 participants who prepared Sago- mango kheer, Bottle guard kheer,coconut kheer,sago kheer,vermicelli kheer and caramel kheer.We made the kheer secretly, that is our husbands didn't know what kheer ,we are cooking. The judges were our Husbands. It was fun to be part of a competition. Bottle Guard kheer won the first prize,Sago mango kheer got the second place and my caramel kheer got third prize. Winning doesn't matter, but the competition was full of fun. We had a blast. We got cute little cups as gifts .Most memorble new year party ever. Everyone was sportive and cool.Will post the kheer recipes,which participated on that day soon.
Coming to the kheer, the kheer is pretty easy,but tricky too. If you don't get the caramel right, then the kheer will not be good. If the caramel burns it will become bitter and will have a bad colour. When we make caramel, at first it will become hard, but it will dissolve, so don't panick. Adjust the sweetness of the kheer to your taste. The kheer will thicken quickly ,so cook it accordingly. Add little rice, if not the kheer will not have pouring consistancy. It will become like a pudding.
Check my other kheer recipes
Cooking time : 25 mins
Serves : 2
Ingredients:
For the Caramel :
1.Sugar - 2 tbsp
2.Water - 1 tbsp
For the kheer:
1.Basmati rice - 2 tbsp
2.Whole milk - 2 cups
3.Sugar - 2 tbsp
4.Cardamom powder - a pinch
5.Salt - a pinch
6.Ghee - 2 tsp
7.Cashews - 1 tsp (chopped)
8.Raisins - 2 tsp
9.Water - as needed
* Soak basmati rice in water for atleast 10 mins. The rice when cooked , will double in volume. So use less rice for the kheer. If not the kheer will thicken and will be in pudding consistancy. Soaking the rice, will prevent it from breaking down.
* Lets make the caramel. Heat a pressure pan to high.
* Add the sugar to the hot pressure pan. Let it get caramalised to golden brown. Don't use spoon to mix the carmel.Make sure it doesn't turn dark.
* When the sugar is carmalised, add the 1 tbsp of water and swirl. The caramel will sieze and turn hard. But don't worry, it will get dissolved in the water. Mix well, without any lumps. Alternatively, we can add sugar and water together and wait till it turns golden brown. This way, the caramel will not turn hard and sieze.
 * Now dump the soaked rice and 1/4 cup water to the pan. The amount of water can be altered ,accoding to your wish. If you want the kheer to be bit thick,add less water. If you want to be bit thin,add more water. But don't forget to add water. Because,we are adding rice ,it will thicken the kheer. 
* Now dump the milk to the pressure pan and close the lid. Cook in medium flame for about 2 whistle.
* While the kheer is pressure cooking, fry raisins in ghee. The raisins will blow like balloons. Strain them .
* Fry the broken cashews in ghee and keep it aside. We are going to use the same ghee for kheer.
* When the whistle subsides, the rice would have cooked and the kheer would have turned to light pink or golden brown.
* Now turn the flame on and add sugar. The sugar will melt . Keep the flame low and cook the kheer,till the consistancy you need. Beware after cooling, the kheer will thicken . So cook the kheer accordingly. At last add salt and cardamom powder and mix.
* Dump the fried cashews,raisins and ghee to the kheer and serve.
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Notes:
* Always use less rice, if not the kheer will not have right consistancy. It will thicken.
* Using whole milk will give a good taste.
* Adjust the amount of sugar according tou your taste.
* While cooking the caramel, make sure we don't blacken them, if not it will have bitter taste.
* Adding salt will balance the sweetness of the kheer.
* Don't overcook the rice, if not it will turn mushy.
* The kheer will thicken, after it is cooled, so adjust the consistancy according to your wish.
* If the kheer becomes thick, add boiled milk and cook. If it is thin, then cook the kheer for few more minutes.
Yum yum tasty kheer, nice idea to caramalise sugar for the color, alternatively adding condensed milk too gives the rich creamish color.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! Kheer sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteDelicious payasam...
ReplyDeleteThat kheer is so inviting. Looks so delicious.
ReplyDelete