Name: An Indian Milk Pudding with Rice and Saffron (Kesari Kheer)
Prep time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Yield: For 4–6 people
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 15 g/½ oz ghee/clarified butter; 84 g/3 oz/⅓ cup Basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes or longer, then drained; 112 g/4 oz/½ cup sugar, or more if the dish is to be served cold; 1 g/a small pinch of saffron, dissolved in milk; 21 g/¾ oz/⅛ cup raisins; 28 g/1 oz/¼ cup almonds; 1.5 litres/2½ pints/6½ cups milk; ¼ tsp ground green cardamom seeds

Preparation info

For
4–6
people

Difficulty
Complex
Ready in
1 hr

Appears in

The Rice Book

By Sri Owen

Published 1993

About

This recipe, which I think is a very traditional one, was given to me by Chef Arvind Saraswat, who also showed me how he cooks it in his kitchen at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi. Kesari means saffron.

Ingredients

1.5 litres/2½ pints/6½ cups milk
84 g

Method

Boil the milk. At the same time, in another saucepan, heat the ghee/clarified butter and fry the rice for 2–3 minutes, stirring it so that every grain is well coated in butter. Add the boiling milk, and bring this back to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer gently until the rice is cooked. Add the sugar and continue simmering until the dish is reduced to the desired consistency. Add the rem