Kheer today...kheer tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that...

Last Monday was Eid al-Fitr, celebrated by Muslims around the world as the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. The name literally translates as "festival of breaking of the fast", but it is also given other more informal names such as the Sugar Feast and the Sweet Festival, as traditionally desserts and sweet treats form an important part of the celebrations. I was suddenly reminded of the fact that it must therefore have been over a year since I bought this tin of kheer, an Indian style rice pudding, from Tesco, as it had been on offer during Ramadan last year. Or perhaps it was even two years ago - it had already passed its best-before date, which would be quite a short shelf life for a tin if only a year old. Not only that, but like the corned beef hash from a few weeks ago, the product is no longer stocked by Tesco at all. So, if you read this and fancy trying it yourself, I'm afraid you can't any more. Sorry. I really do need to get my skates on with regards to trying these tins and blogging about them, rather than just buying them and leaving them to gather dust in the cupboard.

Interestingly, while the tin bears the brand name Aasani, it is in fact a Tesco product. For some years now, Tesco has been increasing the number of ethnic food items it sells, including a huge variety of spices, sauces and pulses both dried and tinned from brands such as East End and KTC, which have come to be widely available in supermarkets ("and quality independents", as this billboard near the top of my road suggests). Aasani - not to be confused with Dasani, which was Coca-Cola's ill-fated dip into the filtered water market - is a range of ethnic foods launched by Tesco itself in 2012, in direct competition with the leading ethnic brands, and presumably some of its own-brand items too. There's no mention of Tesco on the front of the Aasani products at all - it is only the small print on the back of the label that tells you that the kheer was "Produced in Belgium for Tesco Stores Ltd." Perhaps they thought people would think the products were less authentic with the Tesco name on them.

 

Gosh, that really was interesting, wasn't it....Anyway, kheer is usually made with rice cooked with milk and sugar, and flavoured with cardamom and saffron. As it is enjoyed across the Indian sub-continent though, regional variations abound, some substituting broken wheat or vermicelli for the rice, jaggery for the sugar, or using ghee or double cream in addition to the milk, and adding any combination of raisins, pistachios, almonds or cashews to finish the dish. It is often eaten as part of celebratory feasts and meals by Muslims, Hindus and other religions alike.

Reading the information on the label of the Tesco/Aasani version, you realise that it probably is something that's best saved for special occasions - the first three ingredients listed are whole milk, sugar and double cream - each, therefore, in greater quantity than the rice itself (only 9% of the total product), so it is perhaps not surprising that 100g of the stuff contains 185 calories. By contrast, a tin of standard Ambrosia Rice Pudding (not the low fat version) contains only 99 calories per 100g, opting as it does for skimmed milk and whey instead of cream, and with sugar thankfully following the rice (9% again) on the ingredients list.

I suppose if you've been fasting during daylight hours for the last month, numbers of calories is the last thing on your mind; as that's not the case for myself though, I decide to sample the kheer a quarter of the tin at a time (rather than the suggested half-tin portion) over four consecutive evenings, and so measure out four equal quantities of just over 106g (as the tin contains 425g but my scales don't do half grams.) This also allows me to try it in four different, yet extremely similar-looking ways:

1. Room temperature

2. Heated

3. Chilled

4. Frozen

Perhaps it's just because I try it that way first, but the kheer seems at its most cloyingly rich and sweet at room temperature, leaving me quite glad that I'm not having more than a quarter of a tin. They've been almost as generous with the cardamom and saffron as they have with the sugar and cream - the flavour from both spices flavours is quite intense, though not excessively so. The use of saffron has of course contributed in terms of colour as well; my photos have come out a little pale, but in fact the kheer is quite a lot more yellow in colour than I was expecting. 

It's actually a lot yellower than this.

Heated in the microwave, I actually find it a lot more palatable - maybe as that's more how I am used to eating rice pudding. It also quickly forms a skin, which might put some people off but in my book is very welcome indeed. It seems more homely and comforting served this way, which might be what makes me ignore its sweetness. I do consume a little less than the carefully measured 106g this time though, as I leave it in the microwave too long, so a little bit of it boils over out of the small pot.

I had high hopes for it chilled; for some reason I thought it was going to be like eating the leftovers of a pudding straight from the fridge for breakfast the next morning - slightly naughty, but incredibly good. The sweetness certainly seems less noticeable this way, but on the hot evening I try it on, it's not quite as refreshing as I'd hoped for.

(Photo of Nigel's recipe from the BBC Food website)

So, it's all down to the final night, and the frozen version. This was a bit of a gamble; while the tin suggests the kheer can be served hot or cold, there is no mention at all of whether it is freezable. The idea came from a Nigel Slater recipe, where he froze leftover rice pudding with chocolate and cherries in a loaf tin, then served it in slices like a kind of iced terrine. He added a load of cream to the pudding before freezing though, so I am hoping there is sufficient already in the kheer for it to work in the same way. 

It needs to soften slightly before I can get it out of the pot, but then it is quite easy to cut up, and all too easy to wolf down. Being so cold, the sweetness is much less pronounced, but the lovely flavour of the spices is still very much there, and I like the nubbly texture that the frozen grains of rice give, which even in an ice cream with 'bits' in you don't really get to the same extent. It would be nice with fruit mixed in like Nigel suggests, but perhaps even nicer with a warm fruit compote, perhaps apple, rhubarb or fig, to go with the spices already in the kheer. Or you could drizzle it with creme de cassis for a kheer royale...sorry, terrible pun. Couldn't resist.

So, while frozen is perhaps the least traditional and authentic way of serving the dish, it the nicest by far, and well worth a try. Thanks for the idea, Nige!