Action 2: Terroir – An Offering
For Action 2: Terroir – An Offering, I was paired with Marcia Higuchi from Brazil. Given the current situation of the pandemic and lockdowns still being imposed in the country, I decided to offer Marcia something that did not require a lot of ingredients, something that could be made with things easily available in the house. As a result, my offering to her was the Indian dessert called Kheer, which is prepared using Milk, Rice, Sugar & some Dry Fruits.
Kheer is a very common dessert in the Indian cuisine, which is prepared for a lot of festivals/functions in the Indian culture. The good thing about this dish is that it can be served both hot & cold, which gives it a varied experience. To prepare Kheer, you would require the following*:
- Milk – 1/2 liter
- Sugar – 4-5 tablespoons
- Rice – 1 small cup
- Dry Fruits of your choice (preferably Cashews, Almonds, Raisins & Pistachios)
- Flat Bottom Pan
*serves 4
- Preparing the Rice:
Before you start cooking, make sure that you have soaked 1 small cup of rice in water for at least 20-minutes. This will soften the rice grains, which will help in cooking them faster once they are mixed with milk.
- Boil half-a-liter of milk in a flat bottom pan.
- After 20 minutes, check if the rice grains have softened up by pressing them.
- Once the Rice is soft, drain the water and mix the rice with the boiled milk & keep stirring the mix on low flame.
- Now add 4-5 tablespoons of sugar while still stirring the mix. You can adjust the amount of sugar as per your taste.
- Allow the sugar to mix well by stirring it for 2-3 minutes on low flame.
- Before turning off the flame add dry fruits of your choice to the mix.
- Once the dry fruits are mixed well, turn off the flame and let it cool down for some time.
The Kheer is now ready. It is served in small bowls. You can either serve it hot right from the pan or put it in the fridge and serve it cold.
Enjoy this dessert with family & friends after a meal.
Bon Appetite!
