Kheer - Sweet rice dessert
 

Krishna is one of Hinduism’s most popular gods. His parents Devaki and Vasudeva were cousins of King Kansa. It was prophesied that Devaki’s eighth son would kill Kansa. He imprisoned them and killed seven of the children. Legend has it that when Devaki conceived her eight child, she glowed with an unearthly light. When Krishna was born an air of tranquility pervaded the earth. This was not an ordinary child. Krishna was smuggled out of the prison and brought up as the child of the cowherd Nanda and his wife Yashoda.

Janmashtami, the birth of Krishna was celebrated with a lot of festivity at my grandmother’s place. According to myth, Krishna was very fond of milk, so various dishes of milk products were made to celebrate the day. One popular dessert is:

Kheer - Sweet rice dessert

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice
½ cup sugar
1/3 teaspoon butter or ghee (clarified butter)
½ teaspoons ground cardamom
12 almonds, chopped
¼ cup raisons

Directions:

1. Pour milk into a large pan and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Make sure it does not boil over.
2. Add rice. Stir. Make sure the rice does not stick to the pan. Bring to boil.
3. Turn heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Stir often.
5. Add sugar, butter or ghee, cardamom, almonds and raisins.
6. Serve warm or chilled.

Second version:

Ingredients
1 cup Basmati rice
1 cup condensed milk
1 tablespoon custard powder, dissolved in warm milk
3-4 cups of whole milk, diluted with 1-2 cups of water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp cashew nuts or almond, ground
1 tsp powdered cardamom

Direction:

1. Boil rice in milk medium heat until cooked (approx. 25-30 minutes).
2. Add custard powder to milk and stir continuously.
3. Add condensed milk and sugar and stir till sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickens.
4. Add nuts and raisin.
5. Sprinkle it with powdered cardamom.
6. Serve warm or chilled.