Chawal Ki Kheer (Rice Pudding)

Gana nayakaya gana-devataya gana dhyakShaya dhimahi |
Guna shariraya guna manditaya gune shanaya dhimahi |
Guna titaya guna dhishaya guna pravishtaya dhimahi |
Ek-dantaya vakra tundaya gauri tanayaya dhimahi |
Gaje shanaya bhala chandraya Shri Ganeshaya dhimahi ||

The Divine Kheer

Baby Ganesha’s Story

Lord Ganesha with a Golden Heart and The Divine Kheer

Any festival is simply incomplete without offering the Bhog i.e. The Divine Kheer to Lord Ganesha. This reminds us of a small but an emotional story where Baby Ganesha requests his mother Parvati for preparing the kheer for him, but as mother Parvati was busy she asks him to go to the village and ask for someone to prepare for him. He decides to descend down to earth to be with his dear devotees to celebrate Ganesh Utsav, in the form of a poor boy, who has very little milk and a fistful of rice. He requests almost all the villagers to make the kheer for him but all deny, only an oldest kind-hearted woman in the village acknowledges the request of the poor boy and prepares the kheer. He asks her to get the biggest utensil to prepare the kheer. She says that he just has a little rice and milk. She gets the biggest vessel and on her surprise she notices that the kheer is full to the brim of the vessel. She had promised that she would not eat the kheer till she feeds the boy, but the boy is missing. She offers the kheer to Lord Ganesha and can’t control eating the creamy and aromatic kheer. So she eats a spoon full of kheer. After the boy returns she feels guilty and apologizes. But the boy surprises her by saying that she has already fed the kheer to him. He takes his original form of Lord Ganesha. The woman falls at his feet. Lord Ganesha asks her for a wish, she says that all her wishes have been fulfilled as she has witnessed the Lord with her own eyes. The Old lady is blessed with a very healthy, wealthy and a peaceful long life. Lord asks her to distribute the kheer to the villagers and he forgives all the villagers who had denied his request for kheer.  The Villagers never went hungry….

This is Lord Ganesha’s Grace.

 Chawal Ki Kheer (Rice Pudding)

Also known as Tandalachi Kheer. Fragrant rice simmered in Full-Cream milk sweetened with sugar and flavored with green cardamom powder, garnished with slivered almonds and lightly roasted  pistachio nuts halves.

Preparation Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Soaking Time for rice: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients and Quantity:

Basmati rice- 1/4^th cup

Milk, whole, full cream – 06 cups

Condensed milk- 1/2 cup

Sugar- ¼ th cup. / as required

Green cardamom powder- ½ tsp.

Almonds, slivered- 1/4 th tbsp.

For the garnish:

Slivered Almonds- 1/4 th tbsp.

Pistachio nuts, lightly roasted /toasted halves- 1/2 tbsp.

Method:

1. Pick, wash and soak rice for 30 minutes.
2. Drain and rinse the rice again and set aside.
3. In a heavy bottomed pan, boil milk add the drained and rinsed rice.
4. Simmer it for 20 to 25 minutes, stir continuously. Add condensed milk.
5. Mix well.
6. Add sugar, cardamom powder and slivered almonds. Mix.
7. Serve hot or chilled garnished with slivered almonds and roasted halves of pistachio nuts.

Chef Tips:

1. You may add broiled saffron, if desired.
2. You may add rose water to further enhance its flavor.
3. Ensure that you use a heavy bottomed pan, in order to prevent the milk from burning or sticking to the bottom of the cooking pan used.
4. You may add lesser quantity of sugar as we are using condensed milk in its preparation.
5. You may add only sugar and skip the condensed milk .if desired.
6. You may add raisins , once the kheer is prepared and the flame is switched off.
7. You may use Gobindobhog rice which is cultivated in West Bengal … is short grained, aromatic, sticky and has a mesmerizing sweet buttery flavour instead of Basmati rice.