Kheer, a timeless classic rice pudding

Pakistani Rice Pudding

Kheer has to be my favourite Pakistani dessert. Pakistani rice pudding is beautifully simple, made with a handful of basic ingredients, you can create a luxurious, creamy textured rice pudding. Perfect for other home cooks like myself.

The real key to a good kheer recipe is the simmering of milk for a long time. My recipe in the pressure cooker helps to cut down the cooking time without compromising on flavour.

The dessert is normally flavoured with cardamom and nuts like almonds and pistachios. Most Pakistani traditional dessert recipes will have a garnish of nuts in there somewhere, and kheer is no exception to this rule. The nuts really add that lovely contrast to the soft rich texture of the rice. You could even add edible rose petals as a further luxurious garnishing touch.

Tips on how to make this kheer recipe

I always use whole milk, do not be tempted to use semi-skimmed or skimmed. It really will not taste the same at all, it needs that fat in the whole milk to thicken to the classic kheer texture.

I also use basmati rice, the same rice I cook my pilau’s with! Some people use broken rice, however I find this is not needed as the rice softens and breaks slightly as it cooks in the pressure cooker and when simmering at the end.

If using my saucepan recipe method rather than pressure cooker method. Be careful to watch the rice mixture doesn’t burn as it cooks. If the mixture burns, the whole flavour of the dessert will be filled with a bitter taste and therefore ruined. If you do feel the mixture is catching, I would pour it out in a new sauce pan and continue to simmer.

When cooking with a pressure cooker, there is always the risk of the milk being forced out of the lid with the steam. To avoid this, bring the milk to boil on your hob as normal, before placing on the lid place the pressure cooker on a smaller hob. Once you hear the hissing sound, you will be able to turn the heat down very low to let the kheer and rice cook. To not move the pressure cooker at all. This will definitely result in a milk explosion on your cooker!

Once you turn the hob off, let the steam continue to release, do not turn the valve to the steam release setting until you hear the hissing noise has stopped. Letting the steam slowly release also, avoids any milk escaping with the steam.

Why do I love Kheer

There is not a person I know who does not love this traditional dessert recipe. It is something I grew up having on every celebration. It was only after I got married did I start to make it myself. I did not realise how time consuming it was to make! Pints and pints of milk were needed and over an hour of simmering on low heat before anything vaguely resembling kheer was achieved.

As much as I love this Pakistani rice pudding, I also love looking for shortcuts. I therefore experimented with my pressure cooker (instant pot) and felt like I hit the jack pot! This recipe makes you a delicious creamy kheer in under half and hour (instead of the hour and half usually required!) I have however also written out the recipe for cooking without a pressure cooker. Just in case you haven’t invested in one yet.

You can also quite easily freeze this sweet dish once it’s cooled down. It defrosts really well, and saves you having to prepare dessert on the day of your dinner party. Just let it defrost in the fridge overnight. If you really want to make a feast of a dinner party, why don’t you try making this dish along with my halwa and seviyan! And of course I would always serve a traditional Pakistani dessert with Pakistani tea.

Ingredients

Feeds 6

Time: Preparation 3 minutes, cooking 22 minutes

• 2 pints of whole milk
• 90 grams of basmati rice (washed)
• 3 cardamon pods (crack the shells so the black seeds are visible)
• 200ml of double cream
• 2.5 tablespoons of caster sugar (to taste)
• Coarsely ground almonds and pistachios to serve

Method for kheer in pressure cooker

1. Add the whole milk to your pressure cooker pan, and bring the milk to boil.

2. Then add the rice and cardamon pods to the pressure cooker. Next turn the hob down to the lowest heat and cover with the pressure cooker with the lid, make sure it locks nicely in place. Once you can hear the pressure cooker hissing with the steam start to time the cooking from this point. Cook for 10 minutes once you hear the steam hissing. Do not move the pressure cooker whilst it is cooking, this will cause the milk to be forced out of the pressure cooker with the steam.

3. When the 10 minutes have expired, turn the heat off. Leave the pressure cooker untouched and allow the steam to gently escape. (You do not want to rush this process, as there is a risk of the milk in the pan being forced out with the pressure of the steam).

4. Once the hissing sound of the steam escaping quietens, turn the pressure cooker to the lid’s release steam setting. This will release the last of the steam left in the pressure cooker. Then remove the pressure cooker lid. You will see that the rice has cooked and the milk and evaporated down substantially, but is still quite runny.

5. Turn the hob back on to the lowest heat and add the cream and sugar. Let the rice mixture simmer for 8-10 minutes. You will see at this point that the milk is now thickening and the rice has further cooked/started to dissolve. Once you see the mixture of milk and rice has thickened, the rice is done.

6. Serve with the ground almonds and pistachios on top. You can serve the dessert warm or cold. Equally delicious!

Method for Kheer in saucepan

Time: Preparation 3 minutes, cooking 1 hour and 15 minutes minutes

1. Add the milk to your pan and bring to the boil.
2. Add the rice and cardamon pods. Turn the hob down to the lowest heat and cover with the lid. Cook the rice on low heat for 1 hour. Keep gently stirring at regular intervals . You will need to be careful that the milk does not burn. (If it does start to burn to the bottom of the saucepan, pour the mixture into another saucepan and continue to simmer for the rest of the hour. )
3. Once you can see the desert has started to thicken, and the rice is dissolving, add the cream and sugar and cook for further 10 minutes on low heat.
4. Serve with the ground almonds and pistachios on top. You can serve the dessert warm or cold. Equally delicious!