Chawal ki kheer (rice pudding)
Rice slow-cooked in milk until creamy — offered on Sharad Purnima, in Shraddha and on many festivals.
Fasting (vrat) suitability
No saltNo onion or garlicContains grains or pulses, so it is usually made as festival prasad rather than eaten during a strict fast.
Fasting and offering customs differ between families, regions and sampradayas — some avoid all salt, milk, sugar or certain vegetables. Follow your own tradition and your elders’ guidance.
Offered on
Moon and Lakshmi on Sharad Purnima (kept under the moonlight overnight); ancestors in Shraddha; Lakshmi on Diwali
Ingredients
For 6 servings. 1 cup = 240 ml.
- 1 litre full-cream milk
- ¼ cup short-grain rice, washed and soaked 30 minutes
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 8–10 strands saffron (optional)
- 2 tbsp chopped almonds, cashews and raisins
Method
- Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy pan.
- Drain the rice, lightly crush it with your fingers and add it to the milk.
- Simmer on low heat for 35–40 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until the rice is soft and the milk thick and creamy.
- Add the sugar and cook 5 more minutes. Add cardamom, saffron and nuts.
- Offer it warm or chilled. On Sharad Purnima it is covered with a thin cloth and kept in the moonlight overnight, then shared in the morning.
Some families use jaggery instead of sugar (add it off the heat so the milk does not split).
Also offered on these festivals
Recipes written by our editorial team from common household practice. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.