Caramel Rice Kheer (Burnt Sugar Rice Pudding)
Creamy Indian rice pudding cooked in milk with a burnt-sugar caramel base, cardamom, and toasted nuts.
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed saucepan (at least 3 L)
- Heatproof whisk or long spoon
- Small pan or kettle (to warm milk)
Ingredients
For the caramel base
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 100 g
- 2 tbsp water optional, for a wet caramel start
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
For the kheer
- 4 cups whole milk 960 ml; 3 cups warmed, 1 cup room temperature; divided
- 1/4 cup basmati rice 45 g; rinsed until water runs mostly clear, drained well
- 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder or seeds from 4 green cardamom pods, crushed
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar optional second sweetening; taste after caramel step
- 1 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter optional, for sheen
- 2 tbsp chopped almonds or pistachios lightly toasted, for garnish
- Extra crushed cardamom or a few saffron strands (optional)
Instructions
Build the caramel
- In a heavy 3 L saucepan, combine the 1/2 cup sugar, optional 2 tbsp water, and salt. Stir over medium heat just until the sugar looks damp, then stop stirring and let it melt and bubble.
- Cook until the syrup turns deep amber with a thin wisp of smoke. If it smells sharply acrid, discard safely and restart with clean sugar. Aim for strong-tea amber, not black.
- Remove the pan from the heat for about 10 seconds. Slowly pour in about 1 cup of the warm milk while whisking constantly. It will steam and seize; keep whisking over low heat until lumps dissolve.
Cook the kheer
- Whisk in the remaining warm milk and the room-temperature milk. Return to medium-low heat until smooth and steaming, not a rolling boil.
- Add rinsed rice and cardamom. Simmer gently, scraping the bottom every few minutes, for 35 to 50 minutes until the rice is very tender and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Skim skin if you want a silkier finish.
- Taste. Add the optional 3 tbsp sugar only if you want a sweeter bowl. Stir in optional ghee for richness.
- Cool slightly; the kheer thickens as it sits. Garnish with nuts and optional saffron.
Notes
Warm milk for the first pour into caramel is essential; cold milk shocks the base and can cause stubborn lumps.
Rinse rice well so excess surface starch does not turn the pot gluey.
Simmer gently after the rice goes in; a hard rolling boil can break the milk and feel grainy.
Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container; reheat with a splash of milk while stirring.
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