Growing up, dessert wasn’t something we ate very often. In fact, we rarely ate out back then. When my late dad was still around, eating out every weekend was a norm though. Mom started working 2 years after dad passed away. Expenses were pretty tight and cooking was definitely a better option than eating out. Lucky us, my mom is a great cook and so was her mother. We have been fortunate enough to grow up eating and appreciating real home cooked food. In-fact we are so used to eating delicious home cooked food that we siblings have developed discerning palates.
Now, dessert is something everyone of us love especially my brothers. I would usually make some kinda dessert for my brothers every weekend. Custards and jelly topped with fruits are a popular choice among my brothers. They love Tiramisu too, but Tiramisu is not something that you just eat every other day. Tiramisu is special ♥ so I would normally make it on special occasions only.
Is there something that you loved so much that you rather not have it around the house? In my case, it’s Indian sweets. I loveeeeee Indian sweets. No wait.
I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE Indian sweets.
Okay the latter looks more apt. It is something that I don’t really talk about as I do not eat them often. I might not be the biggest fan of Indian cuisines. I mean, I love Indian food, but I can’t eat curry and masala, day in and day out. I need my soups, Spaghetti Bolognese, Salads..etc.
When it comes to sweets, DANG all hell breaks loose. When I say Indian sweets, I am obviously not referring to just any sweet. Good Indian sweets are mostly moist and it crumbles up in your mouth nicely. Some can be really badly prepared and are as hard as the rocks in my garden. Hmm, my imaginary garden, I meant. Come’ on, in my Easy Tomato Bruschetta post, I have already mention that I don’t not have a garden. Play pretend with me please.
As I am typing this post, I am visualizing gulab jamun, rasmalai and rasgullas (Read: Indian sweets).
I am glad that Indian sweets are not something that I can just buy off the shelves at the supermarkets or at seven-eleven. If some Indian store (that sells Indian sweets) starts to open up 5 minutes from my place. I might have to move to another place, just to avoid that store. Yes, I am hopelessly in love with good Indian sweets.
Sadly, most Indian sweets are laden with sugar, milk and in some case, oil. 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 One sad smiley doesn’t suffice. If only Indian sweets were healthy, I would eat them by the dozens, on an hourly basis. I rarely make them at home either as I do not really want it to be a habit but I would usually visit Little India about twice in a year to succumb to my cravings for Indian Sweets!
Every Indian home is flooded with sweet dishes on special occasions, especially Diwali. Sometimes you do not need a special occasion to have something sweet though. Yesterday was one such day. I was fasting and I was craving for something sweet. I decided to make Rice Kheer – Indian Rice Pudding. Rice kheer is a delicious rice pudding made with rice, milk, sugar and various dry fruits or nuts. It is a sweet dish that would always remain special to Indians as most of us would remember fond childhood memories of our moms stirring a pot of kheer continuously over the stove.
My mom would make semolina kheer (semolina pudding) pretty often and it was AMAZING! It was hands down one of the most fond memories of a sweet dish that I can remember until today. For me, this dessert is a throwback to my childhood. Today I somehow realized that, the more I blog, the more memories I remember and preserve via the medium of food blogging. 🙂
- ¼ cup rice
- 4 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup sugar (adjust to taste)
- 4 strands of saffron
- 1 cardamom - crushed (optional )
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 1 Tbsp roasted sliced almonds
- 1 Tbsp crushed pistachios
- 1 Tbsp roasted cashew nuts
- Wash rice and drain.
- In a non-stick frying pan/pot, melt the butter.
- Add the rice and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the milk, cook until the rice is tender and the milk reduced to about half.
- Stir often to ensure the milk does not burn.
- Add the sugar, saffron, cardamom, and half of the mixed nuts.
- Let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
- Kheer can be served chilled or warm.
- Top with raisins and remaining nuts, before serving.
Saffron, raisins and nuts are optional in this recipe.
Sponsors