Kheer With A Difference – Khasi Sticky Rice

We have all had kheer at one point in time or the other. Growing up in Shillong, several of my Bengali friends would give me this rare treat from time to time. Since the Khasis don’t traditionally have sweets or desserts as part of our cuisine, the occasional kheer or roshogulla was a veritable treat.

Recently, when putting up the Khasi Sticky Rice on the store, Zizira’s explorers suddenly came upon an idea. The idea was to try out the Khasi Sticky Rice for preparing kheer. While kheer usually requires Basmati rice, we thought why not give it a shot using our own brand? So we went about it and what we got is Meghalaya recipe kheer.

Ingredients

(1 cup = 250 ml)

1. 1 litre full fat organic milk
2. 200 ml condensed milk (we used Milkmaid)
3. 250 ml water
4. ¼ cup Khasi Sticky Rice
5. Sugar to taste
6. 6 – 7 pieces of green cardamoms
7. Assortment of almonds, dried coconut, cashews, pistachios and raisins
   
   

Grab a copy of the unique spices of Northeast India

Preparation

1. Rinse the rice till the water runs clears of the starch
2. Soak the rice for one hour then set it aside
3. Slice the almonds, dried coconut and cashews
4. Grind the green cardamom to a fine powder

Instructions

1. Use a strainer and drain out the water from the rice
2. Heat ¾ of the milk and let it come to a boil
3. Reduce the flame and add the rice
4. Stir the milk and rice till it looks well-cooked while ensuring that the rice doesn’t stick to the vessel
5. Once the rice looks well-cooked, add sugar and the condensed milk
6. Continue to stir frequently so that there are no lumps and the rice doesn’t stick. Remember to keep scraping the sides and adding the organic milk so that the rice doesn’t stick to the sides
7. Watch out for when the rice and the milk have mixed well together. You will now notice that the kheer is thicker and sticky and the color has changed to a creamy white
8. Now add the almonds, dried coconut, cashews, pistas and raisins
9. Continue to stir for the next 5 to 10 minutes till all the nuts and raisins are well mixed

The kheer is now ready to serve! You can serve it either warm or cold. Remember that depending on the amount of raisins you used, the kheer stays good in the refrigerator for up to two days. All in all, the entire process (excluding the soaking of the rice) takes anywhere between 45 minutes to 1 hour.

  

So the next time you’re thinking of preparing kheer for your family, try it using the Khasi Sticky Rice and let us know! When our package reaches you, you will notice that the rice is covered in a thin reddish film, which is nothing but bran and germ, which makes this rice far more nutritious than the average milled rice.

The Khasi Sticky Rice is not processed mechanically but painstakingly relieved of its husk in wooden mortars. Every package of the Khasi Sticky Rice that you purchase, you are becoming part of our dream. One of Zizira’s mission is to help the farmers of Northeast India continue to practice traditional farming, which is devoid of artificial fertilizers and chemical-based pesticides and herbicides.

At Zizira, we help you find more of the region’s traditions and new ways to use them. We also give you the best way to prepare Khasi Sticky Rice at home, saving you the trouble of going to a fine dinner for it. You can find the details here