Kheer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Kheer from India |
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| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternate name(s) | Payasam, Ksheeram |
| Place of origin | India |
| Region or state | South Asia |
| Dish details | |
| Main ingredient(s) | rice, milk, cardamoms, saffron, pistachios or almonds |
| Variations | Gil e firdaus, barley kheer, Kaddu ki Kheer, Paal (milk), payasam |
Kheer (Punjabi : ਖੀਰ Sanskrit: क्षीर/ksheera (Kshira=Milk), Hindi :खीर, Urdu: کھیر/kheer) also known as Payasam is a traditional South Asian sweet dish, made by boiling rice or broken wheat with milk and sugar, and flavoured with cardamoms, raisins, saffron, pistachios or almonds. It is typically served during a meal or also consumed alone as a stand alone savory.
Kheer is also made with grains other than rice or wheat, and barley kheer is a common variant in northern India and Pakistan. Modern variants use vermicelli as a base instead of grains.
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[edit] Regional Variations
The term Kheer (used in Northern India, Pakistan and Nepal) is derived from Sanskrit words Ksheer[1] (which means milk). And the other terms like Payasa or Payasam (used in southern India) or payesh (used in Bengal region) are derived from the sanskrit word Peeyusham which means nectar .
It is an essential dish in many Hindu and Muslim feasts and celebrations. While the dish is most often made with rice, it can also be made with other ingredients such as vermicelli (sayviah).
Rice was known to the Romans, and possibly introduced to Europe as a food crop as early as the 8th or 10th century AD,[2] and so the recipe for the popular English rice pudding is believed by some to be descended from kheer[1]. Similar rice recipes (originally called potages) go back to some of the earliest written recipes in English history.[3]
[edit] East Indian version
The orissan version of rice kheer likely originated in the city of Puri, in Orissa about two thousand years ago. It is cooked to this day within the temple precincts there. Every single day, hundreds of temple cooks work around 752 hearths in what is supposed to be the world's largest kitchen (over 2500 sq ft) to cook over 100 different dishes, including kheer, enough to feed at least 10,000 people.
Traditionally the Oriya version of kheer is speckled with fried cashews and raisins and served at festive occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, and religious festivals. Although white sugar is most commonly used, adding gur (date syrup) as the sweetener is an interesting variation that is also relished in Orissa.
In Bengal it is known by the name of payas or payesh . As in other parts of India a traditional Bengali meal ends with payas followed by other sweets . Payas is also regarded as an auspicious food and generally associated with Annaprashana( weaning ritual of a infant ) and birthday celebrations in a Bengali household .
[edit] In South India
The south Indian version, payasam or payasa (Kannada: ಪಾಯಸ, Malayalam:പായസം, pronounced [paːjasam], Tamil: பாயசம், Telugu: పాయసం) is an integral part of traditional South Indian culture. In South India, coconut milk is also sometimes used instead of milk.
In a South Indian meal, payasam is served after rasam rice, while curd rice forms the last item of the meal. In more traditional lunches, payasam is served and relished from the flat banana leaf instead of cups.
The Hyderabadi version is called as Gil e firdaus, and is quite popular.
Payasam is served as an offering to the gods in south Indian Hindu temples during rituals and ceremonies.
[edit] North Indian, Pakistani, Afghan and Nepalese versions
In Nepal, on the fourth month of the solar calendar, it is a tradition to eat Kheer. The dish is also consumed at Muslim weddings and prepared on the feasts of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha. A similar dessert, variously called fir-ni, phir-ni or phir-nee, is eaten in North India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Today, restaurants offer fir-ni in a wide range of flavors including apricot, mango, fig, saffron and custard apple.
[edit] See also
- Ambalappuzha for the mythological legend associated with payasam.
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Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Eastern Aromas". As Promised! Kheer. http://easternaromas.blogspot.com/2008/06/as-promised-kheer.html. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ^ http://www.zum.de/whkmla/sp/0910/chef/chef1.html
- ^ Hieatt, Constance; Sharon Butler (1985). Curye on Inglysch. Early English Text Society. pp. 64, 68, 75. ISBN 0-19-722409-1.
