Kheer

Kheer or payasam is a very special sweet offering properly made just with rice, sugar or rock candy, and full cream milk.

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Ingredients

1 litre of full-fat or full-cream milk
Scant ½ cup aromatic white rice, like gobindo bhog or ghandakasala
1 cup of white sugar or the equivalent in crushed rock candy
A pinch each of ground cardamom and nutmeg
A generous pinch of either saffron or edible camphor
2 tablespoons broken almonds and cashews
A few slivers of dry coconut, optional
A few raisins, optional
A teaspoon of ghee
Crushed dried rose petals and finely chopped pistachios to garnish, optional

Instructions

Soak the rice ahead of time for at least a half hour. Drain.
Combine the milk and the soaked-drained rice in a heavy bottomed pan, and—using only a medium-low flame—slowly bring to a boil.
Stir periodically and without fail or the rice will settle at the bottom, might stick, and will almost certainly cook unevenly. Also scrape down the cream that gathers at the sides of the pot and mix to reincorporate it into the kheer.
After about 20-25 minutes or so, check the rice for done-ness. It should take around that time for the rice to cook to al-dente texture. The milk should also have thickened and reduced by then.
Continue cooking and stirring; do not leave the kheer unattended especially at this stage or it will very easily catch and burn. Once the rice looks like it might be cooked enough to start breaking apart, add the sugar.
Many will use rock candy instead of sugar, as sugar reintroduces a certain wateriness. Rock candy adds its own tastes. If you use sugar, cook for another 5-7 minutes longer to return the kheer to its creamy consistency, stirring all through, and then switch off the flame.
Add the cardamom and nutmeg powders, and the saffron or edible camphor.
In a small seasoning pan, heat the ghee and toast the chopped nuts and coconut in this until they’re just all browning. Drop in the raisins, mix, and pour this into the kheer. Mix well.
Serve warm or chill well and serve cold. Sprinkle the crushed dried rose petals and finely chopped pistachio (if using) over individual servings.

Notes

The trick to getting a kheer just perfectly creamy is to control the process by which the rice is cooked in the milk—using up just about all the milk’s water content to cook the rice until it still has a bit of bite, but is on the verge of falling apart such that its starches add to the creaminess of the milk and the dish itself. This is achieved by soaking rice ahead of time so it’s already softened when it comes to the stove, cooking slowly—and stirring constantly. There are many recipes that call for the use of condensed milk; know that those are shortcuts never used when kheer is a ritual offering. There are also many recipes that ignore the virtues of stirring—ignore them. It’s the slowness and attention this dish demands that makes it truly special, and a truly mindful offering. Put some music on, say a prayer, or as you please. This version won’t take you much longer than a half hour anyway.