Desserts
Kheer Brûlées
Kheer is a delicious rice pudding, flavoured with hints of cardamom and cinnamon.
Diwali is a special time of year which calls for indulgence and celebration. Kheer has been a long-standing dessert which my mum makes for different auspicious days.
Kheer is typically made with "white rice", which is a thin, long-grained rice. Here, I have used basmati rice, which is more easily accessible. It is important to prepare the rice in advance as it is easier to break down.
Flavoured with cardamom and cinnamon, the kheer has a delicate fragrance without being overpowering. The kheer itself is not too sweet, which allows for the brûléed sugar on the top. To finish off the pudding, a blueberry compote adds some freshness and tartness to the dessert.
This dessert requires a bit of prep time, but it is a great make-ahead dessert. I have adapted this recipe from Dishoom's book, Dishoom: From Bombay with Love.
The recipe
Kheer Brûlées
adventureswithsugar.com/kheer-brulees/
Method
Method: kheer
- Soak and dry the rice: Soak the basmati rice for two hours, fully submerging it in water. Drain well, place on a baking tray and leave to dry overnight.
- Grind the rice: The next day coarsely grind the rice, making sure not to turn it into a powder.
- Infuse the milk: Roughly crush the cardamom pods, split the vanilla bean in two and scrape out the seeds. Add this and the cinnamon to the milk and bring everything to a boil.
- Simmer the rice: Once the milk has come to a boil, turn the heat down to let the milk simmer and add in the rice. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes. Keep an eye on the pot to make sure it does not boil over. The rice will begin to break down.
- Thicken the pudding: Once the rice has broken down, bring up to a boil stirring constantly to prevent the rice from catching at the bottom of the pan. Cook for 15 – 30 minutes, until a thick pudding is formed.
- Add the sugar: Remove the cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla bean, add in the sugar and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Stir in the cream: Take off the heat and stir in the cream.
- Fill the ramekins and chill: Place into six ramekins to set, and place in the fridge for at least two hours.
- Caramelise the tops: When ready to serve, sprinkle on the sugar and use a blowtorch to caramelise the sugar to get a nice crack.
- Serve: Serve with the blueberry compote.
Method: blueberry compote
- Cook the blueberries: Place 100g of blueberries, lemon zest and water into a pot and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes until a thick sauce forms.
- Add the sugar: When the sauce has formed, add in the sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining blueberries: Add in the remaining blueberries and cook for a minute extra.
Comments (6)
Laura
Fabulous recipe, thank you! My whole house smelled absolutely gorgeous while this was cooking. I swapped out whole milk for coconut milk alternative (in a carton) and double cream for coconut milk (tinned) to make it suitable for vegans and it was amazing.
Suvar Baker
Hi Laura Thank you, this is such a brilliant idea! I am always looking for vegan desserts and appreciate you sharing this idea . I am so glad you and your guests enjoyed it :)
Ben Jones
Thanks guys. I don't understand why one needs to soak and then dry the rice. What's the benefit? (Currently waiting for my rice to dry)
Suvar Baker
Hi Ben Depending on the brand of Basmati rice which you use, the rice can be quite starchy. So you want to wash out some of that in order to have distinct, grains and to avoid the pudding turning too gummy and gelatinous. Hope it turned out great.
Eleanor
Can't wait to cook this, thank you for posting the recipe! There are two quantities of cream listed in the recipe, 150 ml and 250 ml, but I can only see cream mentioned once in the method. What amount of cream should I use please?
Suvar Baker
Hi Eleanor Thanks so much for flagging that! The 150ml is the correct quantity - I've corrected the recipe now.
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