I have not had any cooking to do today, since we are invited to eat at the home of a friend this evening.
So I decided in the afternoon that this would be a good opportunity to make some kheer for the girls’ gouter. They often have a glass of milk when they come back from school, with some fruit , or a slice of cake, or a muffin. But milk is not something Indira especially is particularly fond of; so a bowl of kheer will break the monotony in that routine.
They both like this kheer a lot, as does Shri. I often make it for dessert when we have friends at home for a meal, and most people love it.
When the girls were younger, they called it “pasta” kheer and they were not wrong, because I do in fact make it with angel hair pasta, instead of with vermicelli, which is difficult to find here. This kheer cooks fairly quickly too, which is always a plus in my book 🙂
Sevai Kheer:
6 tablespoons of sevai(vermicelli) or angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons of ghee
2 tablespoons of raisins
4-6 tablespoons of sugar (add less or more, depending on how sweet you like your kheer)
750 ml – 1 litre of milk
1 teaspoon of freshly powdered green cardamom seeds
In a thick-bottomed pan, warm the ghee, and add the vermicelli/pasta.
Fry the vermicelli for a few minutes, turning it occasionally, till it begins to acquire a light brown color. Now add the raisins, and fry everything for another couple of minutes, till the vermicelli starts to turn a darker brown. Add the milk now, and cook the mixture, stirring every few minutes, till the vermicelli is very soft. By this point, the milk will have started to thicken too, so scrape the sides of the pan every time you stir the mixture, to recover and add back the bits on the side -this is basically khoya, I guess, and certainly adds to the taste of the kheer🙂.
When the vermicelli is as soft as you’d like,add the sugar and the cardamom powder, and allow everything to cook together for another 5-7 minutes before taking it off the heat.
Ideally, the kheer should by now be a very light brown/creamy color.
This kheer sometimes thickens further by the time it cools down, so take that in to account while you are cooking it and waiting for the milk to thicken.
Eat it hot or cold – either way this kheer is quite delicious 🙂
An Indian Kitchen in France 