Chaawaran Ji Kheerni, or Chaawaran Jo Kheer, is the Sindhi version of India's beloved rice pudding, known as Kheer in the north and Payasam in the south, Chaler Payesh in Bengal.
Coarsely-ground rice is simmered in milk and sugar till it thickens considerably and is flavoured with almonds, cardamom and saffron, ultimately becoming a velvety-smooth, elegant kheer.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Swayampurna/Wikimedia Commons
Chaawaran Ji Kheerni
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 litre milk
- ½ cup rice
- 8 green elaichi or cardamom, peeled
- 20 strands kesar or saffron, approximately
- 6-7 tbsp sugar
- 7-8 almonds, sliced
- 1 tbsp warm milk, to dissolve saffron
- Water for boiling the almonds
Method
- Soak the rice in water and keep aside for 20 minutes.
- Bring the milk to boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and keep it simmering.
Drain the soaked rice, grind it coarsely in a mixer and add immediately into the boiling milk.
Quickly keep stirring at regular intervals to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Dissolve the saffron in the 1 tbsp warm milk and add it to the mixture along with the peeled cardamom.
Allow the khirni to cook until the rice softens and the milk thickens to a creamy consistency.
Add the sugar and let it gradually dissolve while the mixture simmers.
- Meanwhile, boil the almonds for 5 minutes, remove the skins and slice them thinly.
Stir the sliced almonds into the khirni.
- Serve either hot or chilled, according to your preference.
Anita's Note:
- Use a heavy-bottomed vessel
- Add sugar only after the rice softens
Anita Raheja, food columnist for 25 years, is the author of Simply Sumptuous Sindhi Cooking.