Alex, I have eaten this but had no clue about making it.
Thanks for posting this, it's really delicious.
Wayne
[email protected] (Alex Rast) wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> at Wed, 24 Mar 2004 21:40:12 GMT in <jzk8c.1255$%%1.8038@newscontent-
> 01.sprint.ca>,
[email protected] (John D. Misrahi)
> wrote :
>
>>I am looking for a recipe for a sort of middle eastern
>>rice pudding..They serve it at a local lebanese
>>restaurant. It is flavoured with pistachios and/or
>>rosewater..It is creamy but pretty thin, if that makes
>>any sense.
>>
> The Indian version is Kheer. The Persian variety is called
> Shir Berenj. There are multiple variants - each country in
> the Middle East seems to have a slightly different take on
> it. AFAIK the concept was invented in Persia and diffused
> out from there. Kheer is typically made only with milk,
> while Shir Berenj is more high-test, containing cream as
> well. Here's recipes for both.
>
> Kheer
>
> 6 cups milk
> 5/8 cup short-grain rice - pudding rice or Arborio,
> Carnaroli, etc.
> 5/8 cup water 2 tbsp rosewater 2 tbsp sugar 8 cardamom
> pods 1 oz. pistachios, approx. 1 oz. almonds, approx.
>
> Put the rice and water in a pot and allow to soak
> overnight. Bring the rice to a quick boil, stirring
> constantly, boiling until all the water has been absorbed.
> Pour all the milk in, and immediately reduce the heat as
> low as it will go. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until very
> thick, stirring occasionally. Split the cardamom pods,
> grind the seeds, and add to the mix. Briefly cook (about 5
> minutes), then add the rosewater, stir, heat for about 1
> minute, and remove from the heat. Stir in the sugar. Pour
> into ramekins or small bowls. Chill until cool. Just
> before serving, chop up the pistachios and almonds finely
> (use a knife, NOT a food processor, for this operation)
> and sprinkle on top. Serve. Serves 4.
>
> Shir Berenj follows the same recipe, but instead of all
> milk, you use 4 cups of milk and 2 cups of cream. You add
> only the milk at the beginning, and pour in the cream at
> the same time you add the sugar,
> i.e. as you pull it off the stove. In Shir Berenj, also,
> you top only with pistachios - so double the amount
> of those and eliminate the almonds.
>
> You can also make both hot instead of cold - delicious in
> winter. Simply reduce the amount of milk by 2 cups, heat
> the cream, if any, before stirring in, and eat as soon as
> you get it off the stove.
>
> If you don't like how thick the mixture turns out, you can
> easily change it by increasing or reducing the amount of
> milk. There's a range of textures you can produce, from
> firm and holding its own shape (4 cups), to very loose and
> runny (8 cups).
