Making Kheer for Diwali
Every Diwali, Keshav makes a big pot of rice kheer. This year, he finally wrote down the recipe. Here it is, with all the mistakes and tips included.
Diwali is my favourite festival, and the main reason is the kheer. Every year, while everyone else is busy with fireworks and diyas, I am in the kitchen slowly stirring a big pot of milky, sweet rice pudding.
Kheer is simple — just rice, full-fat milk, sugar, cardamom, and patience. But that patience is everything. You cannot rush a good kheer.
This year I used 1.5 litres of full-fat milk and let it come to a gentle simmer before adding 1/4 cup of washed basmati rice. Then came the stirring. For 45 minutes. Non-stop. While everyone outside had fun.
But here is why it is worth it: as the milk reduces, it becomes thicker and creamier, the rice softens and breaks down slightly, and the whole kitchen smells of warm cardamom and sweet milk. There is nothing better.
I added 5 tablespoons of sugar, 6 crushed cardamom pods, a tiny pinch of saffron dissolved in warm milk, and then topped it with fried cashews, almonds, and raisins.
The secret I learned this year: serve it slightly warm, not cold. Cold kheer from the fridge is good, but warm kheer fresh from the stove is a different experience entirely. Subal finished three bowls. I finished four.
Wishing everyone a very happy, sweet, and Sattvik Diwali from our kitchen to yours.