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    Home / Dessert / Kheer

    Kheer

    Slow-simmered rice pudding scented with cardamom, saffron, and nuts — the dessert that crowns every North Indian festival table.

    ⏱ 10 minPrep time
    🔥 45 minCook time
    🍽 6Servings
    🏷 DessertCategory
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    Kheer is the sweet ending to nearly every North Indian celebration, from Diwali to weddings to the simple joy of a Sunday dinner. Rice is simmered slowly in milk until the grains soften and the milk reduces to a creamy, almost condensed sweetness, perfumed with cardamom and saffron. It is served warm or chilled, always with a scattering of nuts and raisins.

    Silky, milky, and perfumed with cardamom

    The kheer is velvety and luxurious, with tender rice suspended in milk that has been coaxed into a delicate, pudding-like thickness. Cardamom and saffron give it a floral warmth, while almonds, pistachios, and raisins add little bursts of crunch and sweetness. It is gently sweet rather than cloying, the kind of dessert that feels like a warm embrace in a bowl. A few strands of saffron give it a beautiful golden tint, and the crushed cardamom lingers softly on the palate. Whether you serve it warm on a winter night or chilled on a summer afternoon, kheer never fails to feel like a treat.

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    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Soak the saffron threads in 2 tablespoons of warm milk and set aside.
    2. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy pot over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low.
    3. Add the rinsed rice and crushed cardamom pods and simmer gently, stirring often, for 35 minutes, until the rice is very soft and the milk has reduced by about half.
    4. Stir in the sugar and soaked saffron and cook for 5 more minutes, until the sugar dissolves.
    5. Add the raisins, almonds, pistachios, and rose water if using, and simmer for 2 minutes.
    6. Serve warm or chilled, garnished with a few extra nuts. It will thicken further as it cools.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Simmer the milk low and slow and stir often so it reduces and thickens without scorching. Kheer thickens more as it cools, so stop cooking when it still looks slightly loose.

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    Recipe details

    Prep10 min
    Cook45 min
    Servings6
    CategoryDessert
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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