Kheer is the tasty, comforting Indian Rice Pudding. This sweet pudding blends rice, milk, sugar and spices to make a warming custard you’ll love. Served hot or cold, you’ll savor every bite of this delicate Indian rice pudding.

Jump to:

• Why you will love this kheer 
• Ingredients needed
• How to make Instant Pot Kheer
• Making Kheer on the stove top
• Make it your own 
• Pro tips and tricks
• Is Kheer the same as rice pudding?
• Kheer with cooked rice
• What’s the best rice to make kheer?
• What if I don’t have condensed milk or evaporated milk?
• Vegan Kheer
• Serving suggestions
• Storing kheer
• Made it, tag it!
• Kheer / Indian Rice Pudding Recipe

What is Kheer / Indian Rice Pudding? 

Kheer, rice kheer, or chawal ki kheer is an Indian sweet dessert served throughout the country. A basic kheer recipe includes rice, milk, sugar, and cardamom powder.

Traditionally, people make and serve kheer during celebrations and festivals. 

But you can also serve this dish as a comforting dessert after nearly any meal and for any reason. It’s also a great dessert for summer or winter because you can serve it either warm or cold, which means it’s perfect any time of year.

Why you will love this kheer 

Kheer is a traditional Indian rice pudding. You can serve it warm or cold, which means you can serve it all year long! In the winter, it is a great comfort dessert that warms you up. During the summer, kheer can be a great cool treat on a hot day.

If you like sweet desserts, kheer is for you. It also has a mellow flavor from the cardamom pods. 

In addition, this is a quick dessert to make. You can make it fresh nearly any night of the week thanks to the speed of the Instant Pot.

Ingredients needed

Here’s what you’ll need to have to make this great tasting, sweet dessert.

• Long grain white rice - I like to use basmati rice, but any long grain rice will work well.
• Water - You’ll need to water to add extra liquid to the Instant Pot.
• Unsweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk - If you want to make this vegan, you can use a non-dairy milk such as coconut milk or cream or a sweeter non-dairy milk.
• Milk - For vegan options, you can use any non-dairy milk you prefer.
• Almonds - Almonds add a bit of crunch, but you can omit if you are allergic to them.
• Sugar - This is a sweet dessert, so sugar is needed to provide the extra sweetness. Adjust the sugar to taste if using sweetened condensed milk.
• Cardamom powder -  Cardamom adds some extra flavor to the rice pudding.

For garnish, you’ll want to have the following ready to go.

• A handful of sliced almonds and pistachios
• Cardamom powder
• Dried rose petals (this is optional)

How to make Instant Pot Kheer

Here’s what you’ll need to do to make this recipe in the Instant Pot.

To start, prepare the ingredients by washing, soaking, and draining the basmati rice. You can soak the rice until you’ve sliced up the almonds into slivers.

Once the rice and almonds are ready, heat the pot using the sauté functions. Dump all the ingredients for the kheer into the pot. You should start with the water first, followed by rice,  unsweetened condensed or evaporated milk, milk, nuts, cardamom powder and sugar.

Next, close the lid and set the vent to sealing. Once the lid is in place, set the pot on porridge mode for 20 minutes and follow the cooking time with a natural pressure release.

Once the pressure is released, open the lid and give the kheer a stir.

When you stir the kheer, you can adjust the consistency and sweetness if needed. If it’s too thick, you can gradually add milk, about a tablespoon at a time, to thin it out. If you decide to add more milk, turn on the saute function to help the milk incorporate.

You can also taste the rice pudding now. If it is not sweet enough, you can add additional sugar and mix it in well. For best results, taste again before adding more sugar.

Finally, serve the rice pudding warm with chopped nuts and cardamom powder on top. If you prefer, you can chill the pudding and serve it cold.

Making Kheer on the stove top

The Instant Pot truly makes kheer much much easier to make! But if you have to, you can make this on the stove top. 

To do so, omit the half cup of water. 

First, rinse and soak the rice. Then add and stir all the ingredients in a medium sized pot.

Over high heat, heat the mixture until it starts to boil. Next, reduce heat and allow it to simmer.

You’ll need to stir the pudding frequently as the milk reduces and thickens. It should take about 1 ½ to 2 hours to fully cook the rice and for the milk to thicken.

After it is cooked, you can serve warm immediately or chill in the fridge and serve cold.

Make it your own 

You can customize your kheer a bit if you want to.

One way to make it your own is to add dried fruit such as raisins or date to the pudding after its cooked. 

You can skip adding nuts altogether. Or you could add additional nut silvers such as walnuts or mixed nuts

If you want to make this vegan friendly, you can substitute the milk for non-dairy options. 

For a slightly different flavor, you could add saffron, or a few drops of vanilla extract, cinnamon, or other spices. And for a slightly different flavor, you can use brown instead of white sugar.

Pro tips and tricks

Here are some tips to make the best kheer.

• Always rinse and soak your rice, at least for a few minutes. This helps remove debris from the rice and helps it fluff up.
• Make sure you make your almonds into slivers before adding them. You can buy pre-sliced almonds if you want to save some time.
• Add toppings to suit your tastes.

Is Kheer the same as rice pudding?

Kheer is Indian rice pudding. The main difference between rice pudding and Indian rice pudding is the addition of cardamom powder. Otherwise, you can use similar cooking methods and additional flavors in both.

Kheer with cooked rice

If you made too much rice the night before to serve with one of our favorite dal tadka or other recipe, you can use the leftover rice to make kheer.

To do this, add the rice and all other ingredients, except the water, to a medium pot. Next, heat the ingredients over medium heat. As it cooks, stir it frequently and scrape the bottom of the pan until the milk has thickened.

Finally, you can serve the kheer warm or cold by placing it in the fridge for a few hours.

What’s the best rice to make kheer?

We find that using white, long grained rice is best for kheer. This type of rice fluffs up nicely and creates a delicious texture and flavor. We use basmati, but any long-grained rice will work. 

You should avoid brown rice and short grained varieties.

What if I don’t have condensed milk or evaporated milk?

You can add the same amount of regular, full fat milk, half and half, or cream if you don’t have condensed or evaporated milk. Also, since these are sweetened milk options, you can add a little bit of extra sugar. A few extra tablespoons should work.

Vegan Kheer

To make this recipe vegan, you need to use a sweeter non-dairy milk, such as coconut cream, as well as regular non-dairy milk. You may need to adjust the milk and sugar content at the end of the recipe, but you should find similar results using a non-dairy milk.

Serving suggestions

You can serve kheer warm or cold. Both methods taste great, but you might find it best to serve it warm during cooler months of the year. 

If you love puddings, you should check out our other pudding recipes:

• Rice Pudding - a similar recipe made with maple syrup and raisins
• Instant Pot Tapioca Pudding - a creamy and naturally sweetened dessert perfectly portioned controlled
• Best Gajar Ka Halwa – Carrot Pudding - a delightfully warming dessert featuring carrots!

Storing kheer

You can store kheer for about 3 to 5 days in the fridge. To store, allow it to cool before placing in an airtight container.

You can serve chilled, but if you prefer it warm, you can microwave a serving in a small bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute or until it is warmed through. You will need to stir to ensure even heating.

Made it, tag it!

Did you make this Kheer recipe? Take a pick and tag us on Instagram @dbellyrulesdmind!

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