Rice Pudding (Kheer) is one of my all-time favorite desserts. It instantly brings to mind the lavish dinner parties at home, where it was always a highlight on the dessert table. The creamy sweetness of thickened milk and tender rice, paired with the crunchy bite of blanched almonds and the juicy pop of plumped raisins, is irresistible and always leaves me craving more.
While traditional rice pudding is often made with whole milk—or even sweetened condensed milk for extra richness—I prefer using 2% milk. It keeps the dessert lighter while still maintaining a creamy texture, and I add just enough sugar to achieve that perfect sweetness.
This recipe makes 8 servings (½ cup each), perfect for sharing and impressing your guests. It’s amazing how easy this is to make, yet so indulgent and satisfying! If you’d like a larger batch, a simple ratio works beautifully: 1 cup basmati rice : 1 cup sugar : 1 gallon milk, which yields about 16 servings (8 cups). For the best results, I strongly recommend using basmati rice, though any long-grain rice will do.
Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Basmati Rice
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 gallon 2% Fat Milk or whole milk to make it richer
- 1/4 cup Almonds Or use store-bought slivered almond.
- 1/4 cup Raisins
- 4 Green Cardamoms
- Saffron strands optional
Method
- Wash the rice 2-3 times until the water is clear. This washes away the excess starch from the grains. Pour some water into the bowl, stir the rice with your fingers and then drain the water and repeat until it is (almost) clear.
- Soak the rice for about 30 minutes and drain the water.
- Soak the almonds in a bowl of water and microwave for about 2 minutes,
- Let it cool and then peel the almonds and cut them into slivers.
- Crush the cardamom in a mortar so that the seeds are crushed into a coarse powder. Remove the cardamom skins since you won't be adding them to the pudding.TIP: You can use the discarded cardamom skins to make Masala Chai.
- Bring the milk to a boil on medium-high heat in a thick bottomed pot to prevent it from burning.1/2 gallon 2% Fat Milk
- Reduce the heat and add the drained rice.1/2 cup Basmati Rice
- Cook on medium heat for about 45 minutes and then reduce the heat to low. Stir the milk occasionally every 5 minutes or so increasing the frequency as time elapses and the volume of the milk gradually reduces. Scrape any milk solids from the side of the pot back into the milk. The milk will start to thicken and you will notice that as the volume reduces it starts to bubble more, that's when we reduce the heat to low.
- Add sugar, almond slivers (reserve some for the garnish), cardamom powder and saffron strands. Soak saffron in warm water or milk 10–20 min before adding to unlock its color and flavor. TIP: You could spoon out a couple teaspoons of the hot milk for this.1/2 cup Sugar, 1/4 cup Almonds, 4 Green Cardamoms, Saffron strands
- Continue stirring until the milk has reduced to about half the original volume in about 15 minutes. You can tell that the pudding is ready when the rice and milk don't separate out when you scoop out a spoonful from the pot.
- Turn off the heat and mix in the raisins.1/4 cup Raisins
- Cool in the refrigerator and serve garnished with almond slivers.
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