Quick Chawal ka Kheer [Sweetened rice]

Traditionally this recipe takes quite sometime to cook. Since I am not known for my patience, I always try to find out ways to reduce cook and prep time. This sweet cooks faster if you already have cooked rice on hand. Wonderful sweet for festivals, guests or any special occasion. A good thing about this sweet is you can flavour it with almost any fruit or nut essences. If at all you flavour, I recommend you use finely chopped nuts and pureed fruit... yummm!

Prep time: 15 mins (includes rice cooking)

Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1/4 cup cooked
2. Dry fruits and Nuts - such as raisins, almonds, cashew, pistachio finely chopped, 2 tbsp [all or any.. whatever you have on hand]
3. Condensed milk - 14 oz can
4. Saffron : a pinch soaked in a tbsp of milk for 30 mins (optional)
5. Cardamom: 2 pods crushed
6. Clarified Butter - 2 tsp 
7. Milk - about 1/4 cup (only if needed)

Method:

• Heat a pot big enough to hold all the ingredients on medium flame.
• Add clarified butter and give it a few seconds to heat up.
• Add cardamom and all the dry fruits and nut you want. Saute for a few seconds.
• Add cooked rice and mix in withe rest of the ingredients.
• Add condensed milk and saffron and let it cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
• If you think the sweet is getting very thick you may add milk to thin it.
• Please refer to tips if you wish to use fruit in the sweet.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve it chilled in the refrigerator, It tastes almost like an ice cream if you have used any fruit essence or fresh fruit. You can also garnish it with freshly chopped fruit like mango, banana and etc.

Tips:

1. You may you fruits like mango, pineapple, banana and strawberry.. go ahead and experiment with the fruits you want to try. However, remember that highly citric fruits may curdle the milk in the dish.

2. If you decide to use fruit in the sweet. Take 1/4 cup of the fruit's pulp and add it while you are adding condensed milk and let it cook. If you also want to add essence, make sure you use 1/2 tsp of the same fruit's essence or use vanilla essence, it enhances almost any flavour.