Rice Pudding/ date palm jaggery kheer (Payesh/Payasam)

Step 1

Boil the milk and add bay leaf and elaichi. You may do this with litre milk and then after it is cooked divide into equal parts. Now each part roughly contains ml milk as some reduction happens due to boiling. For one litre of milk use gm rice (basmati or Gobind bhog). Wash the rice, drain the water and then smear the rice with a little ghee Pour Milk in a boiling pan, usually a deep heavy bottomed pan. I use a deep non-stick one. Add or Bay leaves When the Milk come to a boil add the rice. Be careful so that milk does not boil over. Stir well Stir intermittently and check if the rice is done. You kind of have to keep stirring frequently else the milk might scald the bottom of the pan as it thickens. Now stir the milk continuously so that the milk does not burn or scald the bottom of the container and the rice does not stick. When the Milk has thickened to the right consistency, to check this take a spoonful of liquid and pour it on a flat plate, the viscosity of the milk should be such that it does not flow. By this time the milk would have also reduced from it's original volume. Approx. time to reach this stage is almost an hour or so at a medium flame setting on my gas range. Take the Paayesh off heat and add the Khejur Gur after mins and stir well. Add Gur depending on your desired sweetness level. Tip: If your gur or jagery has been refrigerated put it in the microwave til it turns soft. Savor the sweet smell of khejur gur, pure bliss Optional: Add Kishmis or Raisins. Serve hot or cold, I like cold better