1/3 cup rice, short or medium grain
10 cup milk
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp almonds, sliced, lightly toasted (opt)
Directions
[Yes, these proportions *are* right, only 1/3 cup
uncooked rice to 10 cups milk.]
Wash the rice and set it aside to drain. In a tall
pot that can hold at least twice the volume of the
milk, bring the milk to a boil; then adjust the heat
so the milk is always rising and frothing, but not
bubbling over. To minimize the cooking time, let the
milk boil vigorously, uncovered, for the first 15
minutes, while you stir it rhythmically with a wooden
spatula to prevent the thick milk on the bottom of the
post from scorching.
Drop the rice into the milk along with the bay leaf.
Continue stirring. Keep over medium-high heat and stir
very carefully for another 20 minutes until the rice
breaks up and rolls with the milk. By now the milk
should be reduced to two thirds of its original
volume. Stir in the sugar, cardamom, and almonds.
Cook for 5 more minutes and remove from the heat.
Sweet rice should be only slightly thick when removed
from the heat, because it will thicken when
refrigerated. Chill well before serving.
For other classic flavours, replace the cardamom with
a teaspoon of rose water and a few pinches of saffron
powder.
From: shedevil@vix.com (Anne P.
Mitchell Esq.)
Servings: 1 batch
Kheer (Sweet Rice) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Indian; Rice; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Experts have traced the existence of recipes back into distant history, in truth as far back as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, generally, these old records were just simple hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to academics are some tablets in Sumerian describing the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel `wonderful`. During the time of the Roman Empire a Roman scholar, called Apicius, assembled some scrolls which described recipes cooked by the Romans. He recounts how the roman meals were separated into hors d`oeuvre, main meal and afters, something we still use today. Aspicius recounts how the Romans were skilled in the use of many different herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern cooks like bay, rue and dill. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years we have two books published in the fourteenth century ; a cookery book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, these are unconnected to the curry that is familiar to us all today, but rather recipes for the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the rich people of the period. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and spices from middle-east cuisine, including parsley and basil. These new culinary innovations prompted an eruption in manuscripts on cooking, many of which are now in private libraries. Over the following few hundred years, the wealthy families of Europe tried to offer the most extravagent banquests, and because of this the best cooks and their recipe collections were much in demand. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the 19th century that cooking and recipe collections rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to collating, verifying, and publishing recipes to help cooks of their time. By the arrival of the 20th century, recipe books were starting to become popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, more leisure time and having more disposable income. The introduction of television brought us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, permitting everyone to access thousands of recipes like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Kheer (Sweet Rice) recipe.
