Kheer: A Dessert Served with Love

You cannot imagine a meal without a sweet dish in the end. India is known to be rich when it comes to dishes, especially the sweet dishes. An Indian meal is incomplete without a sweet dish, and when we talk about dessert, then we cannot miss Kheer. It is a magical preparation of rice with milk and sugar. 

Kheer Recipe

The conventional form of cooking Kheer has a prominence of rice, but now you can find many variations in Kheer recipe. Some of the popular varieties of kheer include:

1. Cottage cheese kheer or paneer kheer
2. Dry fruits kheer
3. Fruit kheer
4. Mango kheer
5. Sevaiyan kheer6. Soya kheer
7. Carrot kheer
8. Sooji kheer, etc.

So, you can find many varieties of kheer in India.

What are the different names of kheer?

Kheer is a popular name in the Northen part of the nation, but it is also known as meetha bhaat, payasam, firni, etc. in other states. Muslims also have a variation in the recipe of kheer, but instead of rice, they make use of sewaiyan. Besides its importance as a dessert, Kheer is also served in temples as prasadam. Kheer has a religious significance in India, as a person is served kheer when he is going to do some important task, such as appearing for an exam, going for an interview, going to book a house, or going to buy a new car, etc.

Some facts about kheer:

It would not be wrong to say that kheer is savored by people of all age groups, and is also a quintessential part of Indian food. You cannot imagine any pious occasion to be complete without serving kheer. With so much of popularity, there are certain facts about kheer that you must know:

1. Kheer is of Southern Asian origin

2. The dish is widely consumed in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal

3. There are different variations of kheer recipes like paneer kheer, firni, sewaiyan, etc.

4. Kheer is also served as prasadam in temples

5. It is high in calorific value. Half cup of kheer is known to have 130 calories.

6. Apart from the Asian popularity of this dish, in ancient times, Romans used to consume rice kheer as a coolant for the stomach.

Kheer recipe is healthier as compared to other sweet dishes:

Most of us associate kheer with calories and high sugar content, but did you know that it also has some health benefits? Well, nowadays, people use aspartame, jaggery and honey to curb the aftermath of consuming this dessert. Here are some health benefits of consuming kheer:

• When compared to other sweet dishes like jalebi, Kheer has a lower calorie count. Cooked with natural ingredient and dry fruits, this dish is a rich source of energy, vitamin A and C, and calcium (milk).
• It is known to cure pitta dosh, because rice kheer also works as a coolant for stomach.
• Rice is a source of carbohydrate, and it helps in restoring glycogen level.
• Rice kheer is made with milk, and the latter is a great source of protein and calcium

So, it does have some good nutritional value. You can consume kheer during summers and keep the metabolism issues at bay.