Vegan Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding)
My recipe for vegan kheer (Indian rice pudding) is dairy-free, authentic tasting and even more delicious than the traditional version. It's smooth and creamy with the aromatic flavors of vanilla, cardamom and saffron woven through.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 213kcal
Equipment
- Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan or pot.
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw basmati rice
- 6 cups oat milk (can substitute one cup of the oat milk with vegan condensed milk or vegan heavy whipping cream or single oat cream for a richer consistency).
- ½ cup sugar (can use date syrup, maple syrup, agave nectar, stevia or erythritol).
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds (optional. Can use pumpkin seeds instead).
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- A generous pinch saffron
Instructions
- Soak the rice: Place the rice in a bowl and pour in enough water to cover by two to three inches. Soak for an hour, then strain but don't wash the rice further-- you don't want to lose all the good starch in there that will help thicken the pudding.
- Heat the milk and rice. Place the milk in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the drained, soaked rice and cook over low to medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the rice grains are really soft. Stir frequently, at least every couple of minutes. Don't cover the pot.
- Add the sugar and stir it in. Continue cooking and stirring for another 15 minutes. The milk should have thickened quite a bit by this time due to reduction and as the starch from the rice is released into it.
- Stir in the cardamom, raisins and nuts. Continue to cook and stir until the milk has thickened further and the rice grains have swollen quite a bit and are visible on the top.
- Add saffron. Stir in the saffron, if using. Let the kheer cook another five minutes.
- Stir in the pure vanilla extract. Immediately turn off the heat, stir, cover and let the kheer stand until it's at room temperature. The saffron will continue to release its color into the kheer.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature. Kheer is usually served at room temperature, although I love it chilled.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Oat milk. If you can't use oat milk, any thick, creamy non dairy milk will do. Cashew milk and soy milk are good choices.
- Basmati rice. This is hands down the best rice for kheer, both because it's aromatic and also because it's starchy but not too starchy, which gives you better control over how thick or thin you want the pudding to be. You can use a medium grain rice but in that case monitor the milk closely as it reduces to ensure you get the correct consistency.
- Ground cardamom. I often get this question so I'll clarify that you should always, always use the delicately flavored and aromatic small green cardamom pods for Indian desserts, never brown or black cardamom. The larger brown cardamom has a pungent, sharp aroma that works better in savory Indian dishes.
- Nuts. I usually add sliced almonds or cashews to kheer, but walnuts and pistachios are also wonderful additions. You can skip the nuts if you are nut-free, and use pumpkin or watermelon seeds.
- Saffron. You can consider this an optional ingredient, but if you have it, use it here. It adds a lovely, warm aroma to the kheer and builds upon the many layers of flavor in this vegan kheer.
- Pure vanilla extract. If you've made my kheer or my other Indian dessert recipes before, you know I always ask you to add a little bit of pure vanilla extract to them. The vanilla helps round out the flavor of the non dairy milk nicely, bringing it closer to the sweet notes in cow milk, and adding to the authentic flavor.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 369IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 270mg | Iron: 2mg