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Showing posts with label kheer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kheer. Show all posts

Friday, October 20, 2017

Sugarfree Fig and Brown Rice Pudding / Anjeer Kheer [ Collab post with ADollopOfThat ]

New Year. New challenges. New beginnings. With the last one year of my life being rife with changes, I can not exactly vouch that I am looking forward to encountering more flux in my life. But such is the nature of life. It throws a curve-ball at you when you least expect it. And the catch is that you cant even duck it

At the moment every little cell in by body is clamoring for things to calm down. It's almost like I need the break to recharge my batteries. A little respite before facing the next storm. Unfortunately, events seem to suggest otherwise. And I need to get battle-ready yet again even though I am feeling worn out.

So, for now I am doing everything possible to nourish by body and spirit. The healthy lifestyle that I have embarked on has definitely improved things to a large extent. But there are certain health issues that every woman in her thirties must deal with. And that calls for further refinement in the dietary habits. Plus including more of weight training in the fitness routine as those bones start losing more calcium than ever before.

This simple rice pudding is made of everything nice ( read calcium ) . But minus the sugar and spice !!


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Read on for the recipe -




















Preparation Time - 3 hours

Ingredients -

  • 1 1/2 liters skimmed milk
  • 3/4 cup Brown Basmati rice
  • 3 cups chopped fresh figs / anjeer
  • 2-3 tsp honey ( or add a little more if you prefer it sweeter )
  • 10-12 cashews
  • 3-4 tsp raisins


Preparation - Wash and soak the brown rice for 3-4 hours.

Cooking - Take the milk in a heavy bottomed pan and add the drained rice to it.

Bring to a boil on a medium flame. Add the cashews and raisins. Then reduce the flame and let it simmer for 2-3 hours.

Keep stirring at regular intervals.

The kheer will turn thick thick and creamy .

Finally add the chopped fresh figs and honey. Simmer for another 5 mins.

Remove from the flame and let it stand till it comes down to room temperature.

Serve immediately or chill for 20-30 mins before serving.


















And don't forget to check out the super delicious and healthy 'Suji phirni with Apple and Cinnamon' by Parinaaz !!























Suji Phirni with Apple and Cinnamon

Friday, June 24, 2016

Quinoa Pudding ( A healthy take on 'Chaula Khiri' from Odisha )

Rice kheer or Chaula Kheeri is one of the most frequently prepared dishes at home. If not for a festival, I find myself cooking some for guests or even on husband's request. And I prefer doing it the hard way. Slow cooked to a rich creamy texture and caramelized flavour, the taste is something just out of the world. But at times, the effort and time required proves to be just too much and I end up with a delicious kheer but a grumpy mood to go with it.

That is precisely why I ended up trying to cook Kheer with quinoa as soon as I got my hands on this wonder grain. I wanted to find out if I could save time by doing so and yes, I had guessed it right. The grains being smaller tend to acquire that melt-in-the-mouth texture quite faster as compared to Basmati rice or even the small grained 'arua chaula' that we use in Odisha. Have not used any thickening agents like milk powder, khoya or condensed milk to keep it as healthy as possible.

Quinoa being a superfood, has a high amount of protein, fiber, manganese, magnesium, iron and B2. Apart from the fact that it is gluten-free, it is also one of those food grains that remain non-GMO (GMO stands for Genetically modified and while it may be the only answer to a billowing population and the only hope of abating global hunger, I can't help being scared of what Frankensteins one might be consuming). It is the grain of choice for diabetics as it has a low glycemic index. Plus people trying to lose weight will benefit from eating quinoa as it makes one feel fuller and also takes time to get digested.

Without much ado, read on for the recipe -




















Preparation Time - 1 hr

Ingredients -

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 2 ltrs whole milk
  • 8-10 pepperorns
  • 2-3 green cardamom
  • 4 tbsp sugar ( adjust as per taste )
  • 1 tsp ghee

Preparation - Wash the quinoa under running water. Let it soak for 30 mins.

Cooking - Bring the milk to boil in a large pan. Keep stirring it at regular interval so that it does not catch at  the bottom and the layer does not form on top. Switch off after boiling for 15 mins and keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker. Put about 1 tsp sugar in it and wait for it to turn brown. Before it starts to smoke, add the rinsed and drained quinoa to the pressure cooker. Roast it for 5 mins to give it brownish shade and also to ensure that it's typical smell goes off. Now add 1 cup water and close the lid. Cook on medium flame for 2 whistles.

Keep it aside till steam escapes.

Now add the cooked quinoa to the boiled milk. Cook on a low flame for about an hour or till you reach the desired consistency. (remember that it get still thicker after cooling down)

Add the powdered peppercorns and cardamom to the kheer and give it a stir. Keep aside till it coold down.


















Serve at room temperature or even chilled.

Monday, August 31, 2015

Guda Khiri / Gur Payesh (Rice pudding with Jaggery)

Kheer. Kheeri. Payesh. Payasam. Each corner of the country has its own name and version(s) for the delectable rice pudding. While sugar is the sweetening agent of choice for most folks, there is a tribe that swears by the rich flavor that can only be imparted by 'Gur/Guda/Jaggery'.

While the 'guda kheeri' has been on my list for sometime, I was waiting to lay my hands on some good quality 'palm jaggery', which is the best among all varieties of jaggery that one finds in the market. And I was lucky to come by it last weekend.

Read on for the recipe -


















Preparation Time - 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 liter milk
  • a fistful of jeera rice/basmati rice
  • 3-4 tbsp condensed milk
  • palm jaggery (as per taste)
  • assorted nuts
  • 1 tsp ghee

Preparation - Bring the milk to a boil.

Wash and add the rice to the boiling milk along with the ghee. Once the rice is cooked, add the condensed milk and nuts. Let it boil for 5-6 mins more.

Finally dissolve the jaggery in some milk to check if it curdles the milk. If not, then add the jaggery in small quantities and keep stirring till you get the desired sweetness.



















Remove from the flame.

Allow to cool before serving.




Friday, April 25, 2014

Chocolate Kheer

Time for some sweet indulgences!!! This time I decided to add some molten dark chocolate to my usual rice kheer. Added a new dimension to a classic recipe but changed the color to a dark brown which seemed odd for a kheer. I love the nutty brown color too much. Maybe I will try this next tie with some white chocolate.

Read on -

















Preparation Time - 1 hour 15 mins

Ingredients:
  • Fragrant rice ( 1/2 cup )
  • milk ( 1 litre )
  • ghee ( 3 tsp )
  • sugar ( 2-3 tbs )
  • cashews/almonds ( 1/2 cup )
  • cardamon ( 2 nos )
  • condensed milk ( 1/2 cup )
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate cubes ( or 4 tbsp of cocoa powder )


Cooking: Wash the rice and transfer to a pressure cooker. Add 1/4 of the milk, ghee ,sugar and salt. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 whistles. Remove from fire and allow to cool down slightly.

Boil the milk separately. Fry the cashews and keep aside.

Transfer the contents of the pressure cooker to a wok. Add boiling milk and cashews. Allow the milk to boil till it thickens ( Takes about 1 hour ).

Meanwhile melt the chocolate cubes in a double boiler.

Add cardamon powder and condensed milk to the kheer. Cook for 2-3 more mins. Remove from the flame and keep aside.

Stir in the liquid chocolate while the kheer is still hot. Pop it into the fridge once the temperature comes down sufficiently.

Drizzle with some white chocolate sauce and serve. (Tastes best when chilled)




Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Paan and Gulkand Kheer

Most festive(read 'Heavy') meals in India are considered incomplete with a serving of paan. Paan is said to aid in digestion, suppress gas formation in the stomach and freshen up the mouth. Many a varieties of 'paan' are available in the shops, ranging from sharp bitter ones to sweet sugary ones. One is supposed to chew up the paan, swallow its juice and spit out the solids. But these days one gets sweet paans (without the betel nuts) which can be consumed in its entirety. However the paan leaves do leave a slight tingling in the mouth which everyone may not like.

So, the last time when I made kheer for dessert, I decided to infuse it with the flavors of a 'meetha paan'. Had a jar of gulkand lying in my cupboard as I am using it liberally during summers to reduce body heat. I only had to purchase a few betel leaves from the corner paan-shop. One word of caution while selecting the leaves. Avoid the bitter ones and go for the mild ones else it will ruin the dish.

Since it was hot at the time, I decided to use condensed milk and khoya to cut down on the cooking time.Read on for the recipe:


















Preparation Time - 45-50 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1/2 liter milk
  • 1/3 cup soaked rice ( i used Jeera rice but you can also use Basmati)
  • 3/4 cup khoya
  • 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar ( I prefer medium sweet, but you can add a little more )
  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 2 pinch cardamom
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Gulkand
  • 2-3 Betel leaves
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp ghee



Preparation - Wash and clean the betel leaves. Remove the veins and tear into small pieces. Grind with 1/4 cup milk and keep it aside. ( We do not want a fine paste so very small pieces of the betel leaf should remain. )

Wash and soak the rice for 1-2 hours. Strain to remove excess water.


Cooking - Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the soaked rice and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Next add 1/3 cup water, half of the milk, sugar and cashews to the cooker. Close lid and cook for 3-4 whistles. Remove from flame.

Open the lid as soon as the steam escapes. Use a heavy spoon to whisk the contents and try to break down the rice grains( Else use a good quality hand blender for this step). We need to do this when the mixture is veryhot so be careful not to splash any liquid onto ones hands.

Add the remaining milk to the pressure cooker along with 1/4 cup water. Close lid and cook for another 2-3 whistles. Remove from flame.

Allow steam to escape. Open the lid and put it back on the flame.

Add the crumbled khoya ( i used store bought one), condensed milk and cardamom. Stir continuously till the khoya dissolves and mixture reaches desired thickness. (Took 7-8 mins for me)

Switch off the flame.

Stir in the Gulkand. Next add the betel leaf mixture little by little building up the flavour till you get it right.

Keep it in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

















Garnish with betel leaf, rose petals and serve chilled.



Thursday, August 29, 2013

Pudina Suji Kheeri ( mint semolina kheer )

Semolina kheer is also known as the poor man's kheer in Orissa. It is usually prepared with roasted semolina, sugar and water/milk and is conspicuous by the absence of dry fruits. It features more on the everyday meal menu rather than being reserved for special occasions. Some people also use it as the substitute for Cerelac/Farex as it is easy on the digestive system and costs only a fraction of the former.

However i have a lot of warm childhood memories associated with this dish. It is a simple dish which needs a little magic to make it special. Here i have added fresh mint leaves which break the sweet monotony of the dish and give it a zing. Orange zest/lemon grass are two other ingredients which i normally use to transform this dish. I have used the medium coarse semolina but one can also use the coarse/superfine ne.

















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients - 2 cups boiled milk, 3 heaped tsp roasted semolina, 4-5 tsp sugar, 2 tbs milk powder/1 tbs condensed milk, 10-12 drops vanilla essence, 1 tbs finely chopped mint leaves.

Preparation- Bring the milk to boil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the sugar and vanilla essence.

Add the roasted semolina and stir continuously to remove lumps, if any. Boil it for 5 minutes.

Add the milk powder/condensed milk and mix thoroughly. Finally add the mint leaves and remove from heat. Keep it covered for 2-3 minutes.

Serve chilled/warm .



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