Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

South Asian rice pudding (Kheer)

Apologies for dragging him into yet another one of my posts, but I’ll do it anyway. One of the many things my dear husband and I bond over is our mutual disdain for South Asian sweets. It seems they’re all permutations of milk products or by products, overly sweetened and offering little by way of depth of flavor (think: golap jam, rosh golla, malai kari and so on). We have, however, a few exceptions:  sweet doi (yogurt), rosh malai and my Rahima Aunty’s kheer.

This is a very traditional dish done in a not-so-traditional way. In the olden days, you would slave over a hot stove all day, slowly reducing a vat of milk to about half, then adding the rice and sugar until cooked and sufficiently thickened. Rahima Aunty has figured out a way to cut down the cooking time and even add richness by using a 2:1 milk to heavy cream combination. She also blitzes the rice (increasing the surface area), which allows the starches to develop further, resulting in super thick and creamy, almost gelatinous pudding.

To achieve the traditional smokey flavor of a gurer (date molasses) kheer, I’d highly recommend picking up some from your local South Asian market. I haven’t tried it with regular molasses, but you’re welcome to give it a shot! And of course, because I can never just stick to a recipe, I added a dash of salt and bit of vanilla to round out the flavors. I’ve already made a serious dent to the bowl…thanks, Aunty!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup basmati rice
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup date molasses
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla
  • dash salt
  • 1 tbsp butter (or ghee [clarified butter])

Directions

Soak the rice in water for 8 hours or overnight.

When ready to prepare the pudding, drain the rice and dump into a food processor. Pulse to break up the rice (don’t overdo this step…you don’t want a paste).

Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Pour in the rice and simmer until the rice is cooked through, stirring occasionally (about 20 minutes). Continue to simmer until reduced, for 15 minutes. Add molasses, vanilla and salt and stir continuously for the last 5 minutes. Off the heat, add the butter (or ghee) until melted.

Pour into serving bowl immediately and cover with plastic wrap to keep a skin from forming.

Berries n Sour Cream

I think everyone has found themselves in the following situation: item X was on sale so, naturally, you stock up and reap the benefits of your frugality for weeks to come. Except, sometimes, this item doesn’t have a great shelf life. So you can start putting it in everything you eat, or just suck it up and toss it at some point. That’s what happened when my husband bought several tubs of sour cream (originally for spinach and artichoke dip for my daughter’s birthday party). After the last chip had been dipped, I started putting it into everything I could think of–mashed potatoes, sour cream pound cake, even pancakes (which did not go so well). I still hadn’t exhausted my supply when said hubby asked if we had any whipped cream to eat with some strawberries we had lying around. Inspired by sheer laziness, I came up with the following: berries with (sweetened) sour cream.

This stuff is good enough to serve to company. The macerated berries are even good by themselves if you’re looking for a lighter version. I know the cinnamon in it sounds crazy – but  trust me, it works!

Ingredients:

Berries:

  • 1.5 cups chopped strawberries or mixed berries
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsps sugar
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Sweetened sour cream:

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsps powdered sugar

Directions

Combine berries, salt, sugar, cinnamon and balsamic vinegar in a bowl. Let the ingredients sit while preparing the cream (at least 5 minutes).

Combine sour cream and powdered sugar (crystallized sugar just won’t dissolve). Stir well.

Scoop the berries into serving bowl. Top with a generous dollop of the sour cream mixture.