Ksheera
Ksheera is a very simple, Indian sweet dish made of broken wheat, country sugar, milk and ghee. It is one of the traditional dishes made in some South Indian temples too as an offering to God. I’ve heard from my mom that my maternal grandfather used to make this dish so tasty, that it’d be gone in two hours.
The original recipe calls for broken wheat as the main ingredient. For a gluten free option, you can use any kind of millet in place of wheat. Just adjust the amount of milk and water accordingly while cooking the millets. Broken wheat is cooked in lots of whole milk until soft and creamy.
Ksheera is sweetened with country sugar – a healthy alternative to normal sugar. That’s the highlight of this recipe. Country sugar is unprocessed sugar. It is the broken down form of jaggery, completely unadulterated and natural. There are many health benefits in using country sugar instead of normal, bleached, refined sugar in your diet. It improves bone strength, reduces food craving, detoxes, prevents constipation and reduces free radicals in your system.
A good amount of aromatic home made ghee and lots of dry fruits are added to make this dish rich and inviting. Yes, Ksheera is a dense, calorie intense dish, but once in a while it is good to indulge in such healthy desserts to satisfy your sweet cravings. So go ahead guilt free and make this healthy Ksheera. Use more of unrefined, unprocessed country sugar and avoid refined sugar as much as possible.
Ingredients
Mixed dry fruits (broken into pieces) – 3/4 cup
Raisins – 2 tbsp
Ghee – 1/2 cup
Broken wheat – 1 cup
Fresh whole milk (full cream) – 4 cups
Water – 1/2 cup
Country sugar – 2 to 2 1/4 cups (as per your choice)
Salt – a pinch
Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Saffron – 1/2 tsp
Yield
Serves 6
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
45 mins
Method
1) Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp ghee. Keep the heat in medium and add dry fruits. Fry them until slightly golden, then add the raisins. Fry everything until golden. With a slotted spoon remove the fried dry fruits and raisins and keep aside.
2) In the same pan add one more tbsp of ghee (along with the leftover ghee after frying the dry fruits) and add the broken wheat. Simmer and fry the broken wheat lightly until aromatic (colour shouldn’t change). Switch off heat and remove the pan and set aside.
3) In another pan take milk and water together. Bring it to a rolling boil and add this boiling milk-water mixture to the fried broken wheat. Cover the pan and set aside for 15 mins. The wheat will absorb the milk and swell up.
4) Now transfer this soaked wheat-milk mixture to a pressure cooker and cook until the wheat becomes soft.
5) Heat another wide pan, add 3 tbsp ghee. When the ghee is warm, add the cooked wheat. Mix for a minute. Then add salt and country sugar. Mix thoroughly and cook for 5 to 6 mins. At this stage add cardamom powder, saffron and the fried dry fruits and raisins. Mix well.
6) Keep stirring the Ksheera for 5 mins or until it thickens to a porridge consistency. Now add 1 or 2 tbsp of ghee and mix well. Switch off the heat and leave the Ksheera in the same pan until it cools a bit.
7) Serve Ksheera while it is still warm.
Notes
- Broken wheat is cooked completely in milk, for the Ksheera to get a rich and creamy consistency. Use full cream milk to make this dish, low fat or skimmed milk may not be a good option since water is already added to the milk.
- Many Indian desserts require good quality, aromatic ghee. It is best to make your own ghee at home. Store bought ghee can in no way match the aroma, freshness or texture of homemade ghee.
- I’ve used cardamom powder and saffron to enhance the flavour of Ksheera. You can use nutmeg powder too, as an alternative.
- Ksheera tastes best when it is hot or warm. You can refrigerate the leftovers and use it up to 3 days. Just heat it up and serve.
- Try Broken Wheat Pidi Kozhukkattai for a savoury broken wheat recipe!
Beginners’ tips
- Adding a pinch of salt to your sweet dishes, not only enhances the overall taste, but also highlights the sweetness of the dish.
- Wheat expands almost three times in volume after it gets cooked. So choose a pan accordingly.
