Kheer

Not to be confused with Kheer (Bengali sweets).

Kheer

A bowl of kheer
Alternative names	Payasam, Payesh and Ksheeram
Place of origin	South Asia
Main ingredients	Rice, milk, sugar, cardamom, jaggery, saffron, pistachios or almonds
Variations	Barley kheer, Kaddu ki kheer, paal (milk), payasam, payesh, chhanar payesh (payesh made with chhana or paneer)
Food energy (per serving)	249 kcal kcal
Cookbook: Kheer   Media: Kheer

Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur wheat, millet, tapioca, vermicelli, or sweet corn. It is typically flavored with desiccated coconut, cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashews, pistachios, almonds, or other dry fruits and nuts, and recently pseudo-grains are also gaining popularity. It is typically served as a dessert.

Etymology

The word kheer is derived from the Sanskrit word for milk, kshira (क्षीर). Kheer is also the archaic name for sweet rice pudding. The word pāyasam used in South Indian circles is related to the Sanskrit payas, 'rice'.

Origin

Kheer topped with dried fruits and nuts

Vermicelli Payasam

Kheer was a part of the ancient Indian diet.

According to the food historian K. T. Achaya, kheer or payas, as it is known in southern India, was a popular dish in ancient India. First mentioned in ancient Indian literature, it was a mixture of rice, milk and sugar, a formula that has endured for over two thousand years. Payas was also a staple Hindu temple food, in particular, and it is served as Prasāda to devotees in temples.

See also

• Porridge
• Khira sagara
• Shir Berenj or Phirni
• Doodhpak