Hasinaye Kheer/चावल की खीर ( Kheer sweetened with Date Jaggery)

Hasinaye Kheer

Kheer is a dessert made in Asian continent as well as Middle East. In India Making Kheer varies from east to west and North to South. In Southern part of India Kheer is commonly made with rice/sewai (vermicelli)/Sabudana in milk and coconut milk. In Northern India it is made in milk either with rice or sewai. But almost everywhere sugar is added as sweetener. The Kheer made in West Bengal India is definitely different as the sweetener added is Date Jaggery. Date jaggery gives a wonderful flavor to the kheer. Due to its wonderful looks and delectable taste I call it Hasinaye Kheer. This kheer is special to me as it evokes the childhood memories of Durga puja when we used to get to eat as much gud ki kheer as we wanted in Durga puja fest.

Date jaggery is unrefined sweetener thus all nutrients are intact in it unlike sugar which is refined sweetener. Thus it not only adds flavor but makes the kheer rich in Iron and many micro nutrients.

Preparation Time: 5 min.

Cooking Time: 90 min

Servings: 8 large helpings

Ingredients Required for Making Kheer with Date Jaggery:

• 50 gm. Rice

• 2-3 lt. Full Cream Milk

• 150 gm. date Jaggery

• 10-15 Almonds

• 10-15 cashew nuts

• 4-5 Strings of Saffron (Kesar)(Optional)

• 3-4 Green Cardamom (Optional)

• 10-12 Pistachios (Optional)

• 10-12 Raisins (Optional)

Directions For Making Hasinaye Kheer:

• Wash and soak the rice in 100 ml of water.

Rice being soaked

• Dissolve the Date jaggery in 150 ml.water at room temperature and then heat the date jaggery and water solution till it boils.

• Cool to room temperature and keep aside.

Khajur gud (Date jaggery) and water solution boiled and cooled

• Cut Cashew nuts, Almonds and Pistachios to small pieces.

• Remove the green peel of green cardamom and grind the seeds to coarse powder.

• Take milk in a thick bottom wok /pan and heat it on high flame till it boils.

 Milk for boiling for Kheer

 Milk boiled and ready for soaked rice to be added

• Add soaked rice with water in the boiling milk.

Rice added to boiled milk

• Cook with regular stirring till the milk starts boiling again.

Rice being cooked in milk

• Reduce the flame and cook on low flame with occasional stirring till the rice gets cooked and mixes with the milk making the consistency of milk rice mixture to pourable thickness. It will take approximately 70-80 min.

Rice and milk mixture getting thickened and becoming homogenous (50 min. cooking on low flame)

Rice and milk mixture after 70 min. of cooking on low flame

• Switch off the gas.

Thick rice and milk mixture ready for Khajur gud (Date jaggery) to be added

• Add the dissolved date jaggery and mix nicely.

• Add Almonds, Cashew nuts and pistachios and mix.

Date jaggery, Nuts and Raisins added to Kheer

•  Add powdered green cardamom and mix.

• Heat it  if you like hot kheer. Do not boil again.

• Take out in a serving bowl and decorate with almonds, pistachios.

Hasinaye Kheer

• If you like chilled kheer then place the serving bowl with kheer in fridge for 2-3 hrs.

• Serve hot or cold as per your liking.

Oh ! so tempting Let us enjoy Hasinaye Kheer

  My favorite combination Ajwain puri with Hasinaye Kheer.

Tips:

• Do not soak the jaggery in hot milk.

• Basmati or broken basmati rice gives the best result.

• The amount of Jaggery can be increased according to individual taste.

• If your container is not big enough for 2-3 Lt. milk then take as much milk initially according the size of your container and keep on adding once the liquid content reduce creating space in the wok.

• More the milk taken tastier the Kheer will be.

Suggested Variations:

• Rice can be replaced with 50 gm. Tal Makhana. Then the kheer can also be taken during fasting when cereals are not taken.

• Raisins can be added along with other nuts. 
• Incase Date jaggery is not available then sugar cane jaggery (Gud) can be taken, though the flavor of kheer will not be same as with Khajoor gud, but gud as sweetening agent is certainly different, tastier and healthier than sugar.

TalMakhane ki kheer/ तालमखाने की खीर{Astercantha (Hygrophila) Dessert}

Talmakhana Kheer { Astercantha (Hygrophila) dessert}

Tal makhana is the fruit of lotus which is white in color with a tint of brown. It is very light and does not a strong flavor of its own. Fried Tal Makhana is taken as snack during fasting and the kheer of Tal makhana is offered as Prasad in Janam ashtami and Shiva ratri. It is a dessert for people who are fasting and do not partake any cereal or pulses during fasting. Thus in great demand not only during Janam ashtami and Shiva ratri but also during Navratri time also. A north Indian dessert made up of milk andTtal makhana is a delight to the taste buds.

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 60 min

Servings: 10 medium serving

Ingredients required for making Tal Makhana Kheer:

• 50 gm. Tal Makhana

Tal Makhana

• 2.5 - 3 Lt. Full Cream Milk

• 100 gm. Sugar or to taste

• 5 ml. ghee (clarified butter)

• 25 Almonds

Almond

• 15-20 cashew nuts

Cashew Nuts

• 15-20 raisins

• 5-6 strings of Kesar (saffron)

Directions For Making Tal Makhana Kheer:

• Clean the Tal Makhana for any hard brown cover on them.

• Cut them to half.

Cleaned Tal Makhana broken to half

• Cut Almonds and cashew.

Cut Cashew nuts

Cut Almonds

• Soak Kesar in 2 ml. milk.

• Soak 6-7 Almonds in water.

Almonds soaked in water

• Take ghee in a thick bottom wok / pan and heat.

Ghee being heated in a wok

• When the ghee is hot lower the flame add in it cleaned and cut Tal Makhana and fry them to light brown color.

Tal Makhana being fried in ghee

fried Tal Makhana ready for milk to be added

• Add milk and bring the flame to high and cook with continuous stirring till the milk comes to boil.

Milk added to Tal Makhana

Tal Makhana and milk mixture coming to boil 

•  Lower the flame and cook with occasional stirring (to make sure the Makhana is nit settling at the bottom and getting burnt) for 30-40 min.

Tal Makhana cooking in milk on low flame after

• The Makhana will start getting softened up and will start getting mixed in the milk, thus thickening the consistency of the mixture.

• After of almost 40 min. cooking the contents of the wok will reduce to less than half and the mixture will become of thick soup consistency and the color of the mixture gains pink tint.

Stage when sugar and dry fruits are to be added

• Add sugar to the cooked milk and makhana mixture and mix nicely.

• Cook for another 5 min. and switch off the gas.

• Add finely cut Almonds, Cashew nuts and raisins.

• Mix nicely.

• Add Kesar and milk mixture and stir nicely.

• Remove the peel from soaked almonds and break them to two parts.

• Take out in a serving bowl and decorate with soaked halves of Almonds, cashew and raisins.

Talmakhana Kheer {Astercantha (Hygrophila) dessert}

• Serve hot or chill the kheer and serve cold.

Tips:

• Make sure that if there is any hard brown color cover on Tal Makhana, then it should be removed.

• Tal makhana should be fried in low flame else they will become black and burnt.

• Stirring of kheer during cooking is very important as it will prevent settling at the bottom and getting burnt.

• If you want to serve the kheer cold then keep the consistency of kheer thinner than you would like to serve ,because on cooling it will become thick.

Suggested Variations:

• Tal Makhana can be roasted in wok or in oven before adding to the milk, this will help avoiding the ghee in kheer.

• Toned milk can be taken instead of whole cream milk, but this reduces the creamy texture of kheer.

• Powder cardamom can be added to the kheer before serving.

• Kesar (saffron) dissolved in milk can be sprinkled on the to of the kheer .

• To make kheer quickly cook fried Tal Makahana in 1lt. milk and then add 200 gm milk made Concentrated milk available in market) and mix nicely. Cook for 2 min, add nuts and kesar.