Kheer is the Indian version of the universal rice pudding.  It’s the quintessential dessert item at every Indian buffet table, and the most festive of Indian desserts.  You can dress it up with some edible silver.

Here is a super, easy low maintenance recipe for the rice pudding – slow cooker aka crock pot kheer.

Chef’s tip: It’s a bitch to clean the burnt milk and rice that accumulates at the bottom of the pot, no matter how diligent you are at stirring it. (Recipe below is for slow cooker, but if you are using a stove top, the cooking times for low heat is about 1 1/4 hours).  It would take you more time to clean the pot than to cook the kheer, so I *highly* recommend using the slow cooker.  With the latter, it pretty much is a hands-off dessert, except for an occasional stir (every 30 mins or so).  The adding of the cream makes it even richer and makes up for the lack of evaporation due to the slow cooker.  I also recommend making a big pot of it, so that you will have some in the fridge to snack on for a few days!

10 cups whole milk

1 Tablespoon ghee
1/4 cup shelled pistachio meat, roughly chopped
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
A large pinch saffron

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Splash of rose water or orange flower blossom water (optional)

1. Heat milk in a pot till steaming, stirring occasionally.
2. In a small saucepan, heat  1/2 Tbs ghee, add pistachios, and fry till fragrant, about 30 secs – 1 minute.  Set aside.
3. Wipe clean the pan, add remaining ghee, and roast the raw rice, another 30 seconds.  Transfer rice to a slow cooker.
4. Add hot milk and cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that the rice and milk do not stick to the bottom of the pot.  Do not scrape the bottom of the pot so that none of the burnt parts will get stirred into the pudding.
5.  Add salt, cardamon, saffron and continue cooking till pudding is thick – about 2 more hours, leaving the pot cover slightly ajar.
6. Add sugar and cream and stir to combine.
7. Splash on rose or orange water.  Serve hot or chilled, topped with the pistachios.

Makes 12 cups.

Tags: Dessert, Indian, rice pudding.

I first tasted kuku at my friend’s Tammy’s dinner party.  Not knowing what it was called or its origin, I remembered it was absolutely tasty and exploding with herbal freshness.  Tammy is my citizen du monde friend — from the Bay Area to Chicago, New York, London and now Paris….like those ad taglines for high end perfume.  But it was really from her Persian background, as I found out years later….although I still didn’t know what it was called. In a casual conversion with my Persian neighbor in the laundry room, I learned it was called kuku and eaten during the Persian new year.  That’s when the kuku exploration began.

Kuku is essentially a Persian fritata.  Many Middle Eastern stores sell a kuku mix, and the advieh mix.  But you can make your own from scratch.  Just make sure you use all fresh herbs….the dried ones are just not the same.

Chef Tips: Make your own Advieh with this recipe: In a coffee /spice grinder, add 1 X cardamom, cumin, ginger and dried rose petals, 2X cinnamon and 0.5X cloves and grind into a fine powder.

6 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons Persian Advieh
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup garlic greens, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup mint, chopped
2 tablespoons dried barberries, reconstituted

2 Tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried fenugreek

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the baking powder, flour, advieh, salt, and pepper. Lightly beat in the chopped garlic, herbs and barberries.
3. Using a 10-inch oven-proof  skillet, melt butter.  Add fenugreek until the fenugreek pops.  Turn down the heat a bit. Add the eggs and herbs mixture and cook over medium-low heat — gently stir in the beginning then run a spatula underneath the sides of the omelet and tilt the pan so the uncooked eggs slide to the underside.   Cook until the eggs are just set.
4. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, or until well set and puffy. Remove from oven, slide kuku onto a large plate, cut into wedges and serve.

Serves: 4

Tags: Breakfast, Persian.

Of the many different types of curries in Malaysia, the rendang is the most loved.  The rendang is always the star of any kenduris (wedding ceremonies) or raya (Id) festivities.  It’s a very dry curry with sweet tones of toasted coconut.  Slow cook it till it’s fork-tender.

Chef’s tip: To toast coconut, use a dry skillet and toss it frequently over medium heat.  Alternatively, pop it into a 350F oven for 5 minutes.

½ cup of finely shredded desiccated coconut

Spice paste:
10 red jalapeno chilies
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
3 stalks lemon grass
1 inch ginger
1 inch galangal
2 candlenuts

Whole spices:
1 cinnamon stick (about 2 inch)
3 cloves
4 whole star anise
2 cardamon pods
2 pieces daun salam

¼  cup canola oil

2 lbs beef cubes – cuts for stewing, briskets, cubed

2 cups thick coconut milk

1 slice of asam gelugur* tamarind/ ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
1 tablespoon sugar

1.    Toast coconut till golden brown in an oven or in a pan.  Set aside.
2.    Using a food processor, grind all spice paste ingredients into a paste
3.    Heat oil on medium high.  Fry paste and  whole spices till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 5-7 minutes
4.    Add beef  and fry for about 3 minutes till brown.
5.   Add coconut milk, finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, tamarind slice, salt and sugar, and braise uncovered on low, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender and gravy has thicken, about 2 hours depending on beef cut till fork tender.
8.    Mix in toasted coconut.

Serves: 6

Tags: curry, Malaysian.