Creamy perfectly sweetened 'Rice Kheer' is an Indian rice pudding infused with fragrant saffron and cardamom. In India, Rice pudding, kheer, or payasam is a quintessential dessert that is often made for festivals and celebrations.
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This recipe came about on a busy evening when I needed a quick dessert. I tossed rice, ghee, sugar, cardamom, and milk into the Instant Pot, hit the porridge button, and went to greet my guests.
An hour later, I opened the pot to find perfectly creamy, aromatic rice pudding. With a little extra milk and more time on warm mode, it turned into the most luscious kheer.
The first spoonful took me straight back to my mom's kitchen, reminding me of her kheer and kulfi, with the fragrance of saffron and cardamom. It was simple, nostalgic, and a hit with everyone at the table!
Why You'll Love Instant Pot Kheer
✔️ EASY and hands-free recipe
✔️ Kheer gets its creamy texture naturally from the starch in the rice, eliminating the need to add any extra cream.
✔️ Great make-ahead dessert
✔️ Authentic taste, creamy and so DELISH!!
Ingredient Tips
- Rice - I love using aromatic basmati rice for this recipe. You can use any starchy white rice
- Ghee - homemade ghee works best
- Milk - I recommend low-fat milk; you can also use whole milk or unsweetened dairy-free milk
- Sugar - Adds perfect sweetness and can be easily adjusted to taste
- Nuts and Saffron - I like to add almonds, cashews, and pistachios. You can add nuts of your choice or skip them for a nut-free dessert. Saffron adds a rich aroma and color to the kheer
- Raisins - Add them if you like, make sure to rinse them to remove any impurities
How to Make Instant Pot Rice Kheer
- Sauté rice in ghee
- Add sugar, milk, water, nuts, saffron, coconut, and sugar
- Give a quick stir and cook on porridge mode for 20 mins with NPR
- Open the Instant Pot and add more milk to bring the kheer to a consistency you like!
- Add more milk to the kheer and bring it to the consistency you like. Especially when making ahead, you will notice that the kheer gets thick over time.
Tips for Instant Pot Rice Kheer
Although the rice kheer recipe is super easy, here are some tips to keep in mind so the kheer does not curdle when pressure cooking:
- Rinse well: Wash and drain rice (and raisins, if using) to remove impurities that may cause milk to curdle.
- Fresh milk: Use relatively fresh milk; older milk is more likely to curdle.
- Choose low-fat milk: Whole milk has more protein, which can separate under high pressure. Add cream/full-fat milk later for richness if desired.
- Natural release only: Avoid quick release as milk will splatter. Let the Instant Pot cool naturally.
- Keep it clean: Use a clean pot, lid, and sealing ring. (Many keep a separate ring for sweets.)
- Adjust thickness: Kheer thickens as it cools. Add extra milk before reheating if making ahead.
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Recipe
Instant Pot Rice Pudding
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- ½ cup white rice basmati or short grain amber mor, Rinsed and drained
- 4 to 5 cups low fat milk divided
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup sugar more or less depending on taste
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 4 tablespoons nuts almonds, and walnuts coarsely chopped or sliced(optional)
- ½ teaspoon saffron optional
- 2 tablespoons raisins optional, rinsed and pat dried
- 1 tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut optional
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add ghee and rice. Sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add 3 cups low-fat milk, water, sugar, cardamom powder, nuts, saffron, raisins, coconut, and salt.
- Close Instant Pot lid with the pressure valve to sealing. Press the Porridge button. Allow Natural Pressure Release.
- Open Instant Pot, Mash the rice with the back of a spoon. Add remaining 1 to 2 cups of low-fat milk (depending on the consistency you like). Add more sugar if needed.
- Cook on saute for 2-3 minutes or keep on the warm mode until ready to be served. Serve Warm or Chilled
Notes
- Rinse the rice and then drain all the water out. If using raisins, make sure to rinse and pat dry. Basically, we want to remove any dirt or impurities from ingredients so the milk does not curdle
- Use relatively fresh milk. Stale milk has higher chances of curdling when heated at high temps
- Use low-fat milk! Whole milk is high in protein and the proteins can separate with the high heat of pressure cooking making it look like the milk has curdled.
- Add some water while pressure cooking, this will prevent the milk from browning or burning at the bottom of the pot
- Do not quick release. Milk will splutter all over causing a mess. You want the Instant Pot to naturally release which gradually lowers the temperature of the milk inside
- Ensure the stainless steel pot, lid, and sealing ring are clean. You may want to keep a designated sealing ring for sweets and desserts
- The kheer will continue to thicken as it cools down. If making ahead of time, add more milk and then reheat before serving
- If you like to add cream or full-fat milk for a rich creamier texture, make sure to add it after the pressure cooking cycle is complete
- For the non-dairy version, substitute ghee with vegan butter and milk with almond milk
- Allergic to nuts, simply skip them or add the ones you can eat as a garnish
- When short on time, skip the sautéing of rice and simply dump all the ingredients and press the porridge button
- Want to make it less sweet, stir in sugar to taste after the pressure cooking cycle is completed. You can also use your favorite sweetener
Aashi says
The kheer turned to be absolutely amazing. Its super quick and the ratios are just perfect.
Archana Mundhe says
Thank you for your feedback! This is my go to Indian dessert when I am hosting as its a crowd pleaser and so easy to make too!