Cantaloupe Rice Pudding, also known as kheer, is a delicious dessert that will complement any main dish. The sweetness of the cantaloupe balances nicely with the nutty flavor of almonds and cashews. This is a must try.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Ingredients
1/4Cup Rice
3 Cups Milk
1Tbsp Almonds, blanched
1/4Cup Thick puréed cantaloupe
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/8Tsp Cinnamon powder
1Tbsp Chopped cashew nuts / Pecans
Instructions
Cook rice with twice the amount water until its well cooked and mushy. Meanwhile blanch the almonds and grind it in a mixer into a smooth paste.
Heat a pan and add the puréed almonds. Sauté it in a medium flame until the raw taste goes off.
Bring milk to a boil in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Simmer it and keep stirring constantly. Once the milk reduces and thickens, add the cooked rice and the puréed cantaloupe, almonds and sugar.
Keep stirring until it reaches a pudding consistency; thick and creamy.
Roast the cashews in a Tbsp of ghee and add it.
Serving
Keep it in the refrigerator for an hour or so and serve it chilled.
Notes
Additional Notes
You can also cook rice with half the amount water and half milk. This gives it a nice creamy taste.
The cinnamon powder can also be substituted with cardamom powder. This will yield a slightly different taste.
According to the cantaloupe's sweetness, reduce or increase the amount of sugar mentioned.
Keep in mind that adding too much of cantaloupe can overpower the taste of pudding. Minimum quantity will be enough to get its flavour and essence. Always you can add a bit extra if you want.
Since the mount of almond is little, you can skip this step and add the almond paste directly in the milk along with cantaloupe purée. I did it separately, just in case if it needed more time to cook.