Matar Ki Kheer

Kheer - Rice-based pudding, one of India's most popular desserts. Also called Khiri, Payasam, Payesh depending on the region in India.

Matar - Green Peas

Matar Kheer - Green Peas pudding (Green Peas replace the rice)

Oh, what a cruel world we live in. By nature's heartless joke, healthy food and tasty food are like East & West - never meeting, always competing. It is indeed a punishment that mankind is fated to keep trying to somehow make a delicious dish with healthy ingredients - or vice versa. Faced with this paradox, only a few masterful recipes come close to bridging this eternal divide.

Matar Kheer is one of them. The juxtaposition of these terms (healthy Matar alongside calorie-rich Kheer) itself is so ludicrous, that people dismiss this dessert as a non-starter even before tasting the ambrosial outcome. It is by no means a replacement for a health bar, but if you are looking for a trip to dessert heaven on a lean ticket, this protein-rich (due to the Peas) delicacy is one of your better bets. 

Matar Kheer has only one big problem. How do you convince all those skeptics and food snobs who believe that a dessert needs to be deep-fried, sugar-drowned, butter-drenched before it tastes sinfully good, and turn up their noses at the mere mention of healthy peas in a dessert dish? This has happened so often that I now present it as Pistachio Kheer ;) - the green hue and Pistachio shavings used as garnishing lend themselves well to the camouflage. The ruse has worked well, and I let the person in on the secret when he or she comes back for a second helping (everyone does!). The look of disbelief on the person's face is priceless, you should keep your camera handy. So remember - Ssshhh, its a secret... well, at least till the second helping :)

MATAR KHEER RECIPE

SERVES : 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Green peas (fresh or frozen); shelled
1 tbsp Clarified butter (Ghee)
1 1/4 liters Whole Milk
1/4 cup White granulated Sugar, or to taste
1 tsp Green Cardamom powder
15-20 Raisins (Kismis); optional
25 Pistachios; sliced

For Garnishing:

8 Pistachios; sliced

   

How to make Matar Ki Kheer / Mutter Ki Kheer

1. Wash & boil the green peas in microwave for 5 minutes or till tender. Refresh in cold water & grind to a fine paste.
2. Heat clarified butter in a thick-bottomed pan on medium heat. Add green peas paste & saute for 3-4 minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from heat & keep aside.
3. Boil the milk in another deep pan. Add the milk to the cooked green peas paste. Mix well. 
4. Place the thick-bottomed pan containing the milk-peas mix on low heat.
5. Let the mixture simmer for 15-20 minutes or till the milk is thickened. Keep stirring intermittently.
6. Add sugar, green cardamom powder, raisins & pistachios. Simmer for another 5 minutes while stirring continuously. Adjust sugar as per your taste.
7. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down.  Refrigerate it.
8. Serve chilled, garnished with Pistachios.