Dates Kheer: An Authentic Recipe From Karnataka
Image Credit: Dates Kheer

Whether it’s a flamboyant function or a casual family get-together, Kheer is one of the delicious and flavourful sweet dishes which is served widely in India. It can be prepared using various ingredients such as mango and makhana. One of the healthier options to prepare Kheer is with Dates. Khajoor Ki Kheer is well suited for diabetic people and turns out as a good sweet dish option for them as it is not prepared with a huge amount of sugar. 

The dish is also known as Uttatthi Payasa in Karnataka and is usually served after dinner. It is full of nuts and has a beautiful creamy texture. Dates have various health benefits as well. They are a  rich source of iron. Dates turn out as a great blood purifier too. It also helps in balancing and maintaining bone health as well as bone density. They are rich in Vitamin C and D therefore Dates also help to give anti-ageing benefits for skin elasticity.

 Here's how to prepare Khajoor Ki Kheer at home.

 Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

•           20 pieces fresh dates

•           20 pieces almonds

•           2 to 2.5 cups boiled milk

•           A few raisins

•           A few cashew nuts

•           2 to 3 tsp ghee

•           2 to 3 pods cardamom

Method:

•       Take dates, remove all the seeds from them and leave them for a while. Now, remove seeds from cardamom pods and powder them finely

•       Now put almonds in a bowl and soak them in water for approximately an hour 

•       Put 2 tsp of Ghee and dates in a pan. Now, Roast them for 5 to 7 minutes until they blend and aroma of ghee appears 

•       Take a mixer and put roasted dates and soaked almonds in it. Grind them well and put some milk little by little into this semi paste

•       Put this semi-paste into a pan and let the paste bowl. Add some more milk to the pan now. The consistency of this kheer should be slightly thick. It shouldn’t look thin

•       Next, take a pan and add ghee to it. Fry raisins and cashew in the pan one by one. Now add cardamom powder as well as fried dry fruits to this dates kheer

•       Finally, delicious Dates Kheer is ready to serve

 Points To Remember:

•       Try to use dry and soft dates which are brown

•       You can use almonds without soaking as well. They are used in the Kheer to bring a creamy texture 

•       Ensure to add milk little by little while grinding the dates. Don’t add milk in a go 

•       Keep the Dates Kheer a little thick so you can increase or decrease the quantity of milk as per the required consistency. 

Dates Kheer is a delicious sweet dish which is often served on the occasion of Navaratri in many houses as well as restaurants in India.