Pineapple Kheer

This Diwali celebration was a little bit different. It was just the two of us in our new nest in Walnut Creek, CA - far away from the friends we usually celebrate with. Its a new place that promises a new life but memories of good times spent with friends lingered ... I was missing fun we all had cooking together. 

What better way to feel better than to whip up some new recipe for Diwali. I decided to make something simple yet new for the Lakshmi pooja. Rice kheer is simple…and pineapple is our favorite fruit!! There you go… Boom! It took me less than a minute to decide to put them together. 

So I looked up recipes online (a.k.a due diligence) and finally thought the best way would be to stick to the way our Didu (grandma) made kheer and then add pineapple to it. After all, Grandma knows best! Here it goes-

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook time : 30-40 minutes

Serves : Should be good for party of 4-6.  It was a lot  for just the two of us, so I froze most of it in small plastic containers for much needed portion control!

Ingredients:

Ingredients for pineapple kheer

Milk - 11/2-2 cups (Any type)

Rice- ¼ cup

Sugar

Fresh Pineapple – ½ cup diced into tiny pieces

2-3 Cardamom pods

Raisins (optional)

Saffron -  few strands

Almonds (Sliced)

Method:

• Soak rice in water for about 30 minutes. Strain and set aside.

• Heat milk and let it boil. Add pre-soaked rice to boiling milk.

• Add sugar and stir till dissolved completely.

• Add cardamom, saffron and almonds.

• Add pineapple last and simmer for no more than 2-3 minutes to prevent milk from curdling.

• Garnish as you desire. I garnished with saffron, almonds and freshly cut pineapples.

• Serve warm or chilled.

Pineapple Kheer

We thought it was different and tasty …pineapple flavor gave the rice kheer a new twist!!!

Hope you will like it.

Happy Diwali!

Ajanta from Kunming, China this time! :P