This creamy rice pudding or Pakistani Kheer recipe is a traditional yet simple dessert with just a few ingredients, that come together to create a rich and creamy rice pudding.
What is Kheer?
Kheer is the South Asian answer to rice pudding!
Some version of this dessert is made in every Indian or Pakistani household. There are of course variations, like the addition of more spices, like nutmeg, or finishing off the dessert with some rose water.
Other variations of kheer may include replacing the rice with vermicelli or tapioca. But rice is the most common.
Our Kheer story
Growing up in Karachi, mom remembers Kheer as a common dessert, but also a treat that would serve as her dinner whenever she could get away with it!
Kheer is synonymous with various celebrations and festivals in South Asian culture, both in India and Pakistan.
Growing up, our family would often enjoy this dessert when celebrating the start of a new month on the lunar calendar, with the new moon!
For such occasions, kheer was often served with puri (a fried flatbread) and potatoes.
Our Pakistani Kheer recipe
Our version only has five ingredients, that get simmered together to create a creamy, and aromatic dessert.
Basmati rice is staple in most South Asian households, which is also the rice used in this recipe. We typically use Basmati rice in all our dishes, whether savory or sweet.
There is only a teaspoon of ground cardamom and a few strands of saffrons, but do not skip these! These ingredients pack a punch of flavor in this decadent dessert.
Our variation in this dessert is using sweet condensed milk in the recipe, instead of milk. The addition of sweet condensed milk makes the kheer oh, so creamy!
How to make Pakistani Kheer Rice Pudding?
There are only five ingredients in this recipe, but it does require a bit of planning.
You’ll notice that almost all recipes that require Basmati rice, ask that the rice be washed and then soaked for 30 minutes before boiling it on the stovetop.
For this Pakistani Kheer recipe, once the rice is boiled, it is blended with the starch-released water, to create a really creamy texture.
You can either use a blender or even an immersion blender directly in your pot for this step!
Then, the sweet condensed milk, sugar, cardamom and saffron are added, and the mixture is simmered on the stovetop for 30-45 minutes, depending on how thick you like your rice pudding.
How to serve Kheer or Rice Pudding?
This Pakistani Kheer can be served both warm or chilled. It’s really a personal preference.
Some of us like it chilled, others prefer it warm, with bread, puri or roti to dip it in!
Whether you enjoy this dessert warm or chilled, we guarantee you will be impressed by the decadence of this simple dessert.
Looking for another dessert made with rice? Try our Zarda Rice Recipe!
Ready to make Kheer / Rice Pudding?
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Kheer / Pakistani rice pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- 3 cups Water
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar see notes
- 1 can Sweet Condensed Milk see notes
- ½ tsp Ground green cardamon
- 1 pinch Saffron few strands
- pinch Nutmeg *optional
Garnishes
- 5 Almonds, crushed
- 5 Pistachios, crushed
Instructions
- Soak rice for 30 minutes
- In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to boil.
- Drain the soaked rice.
- Once water is rapidly boiling, add the soaked rice that has been drained.
- Boil rice in water for 7-8 minutes, until cooked.
- Turn off the stove, and using an immersion blender, to blend the rice and water. Alternatively, you can use a blender, then move it back to the saucepan.
- Add sugar, milk, saffron and ground cardamom and cook on low heat stirring every few minutes, for about 30 minutes until desired consistency is reached.
- Remove from heat, and let cool.
- Serve either warm, or chilled (chill overnight).
- When serving, serve in individual bowls and garnish with crushed almonds and pistachios.
Notes
- 2 cups whole milk can be substituted for the sweet condensed milk. Add a 1/2 cup of sugar if using whole milk