What Is Benami Kheer? Here's How You Can Make It At Home

Most of our "lavish" meal plans frequently include Awadhi specialities like kebabs, kormas, and shahi tukdas. If you read about Awadhi cuisine, you will come across numerous fascinating anecdotes and legends explaining why it may not be found anywhere else in the nation. Northern India's Awadh region is home to a cuisine known as Awadhi cuisine. Lucknow's cuisine includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals, with culinary styles resembling those of Central Asia, the Middle East, and Northern India. Mughal culinary methods have had a significant impact on the Awadh region, and the cuisine of Lucknow is similar to that of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab, and Hyderabad. The city is renowned for its Nawabi cuisine as well. It is stated that the khansamas kept their cooking practices very private. Even if they divulge the ingredients, they would hide something to avoid copying.

One such famous delicacy from Awadhi kitchens is benami kheer, which was never given a name since the cooks didn't want to disclose the kheer's secret ingredient, which is garlic. That's true; "Benami Kheer" dispels any preconceptions you may have about milky pudding while still being a delicious dish. The Sanskrit word "Ksheer" is where the word "Kheer" comes from. It is a milk-based delicacy that is primarily made with vermicelli or rice grains. People have tried and varied the combination of fruits and vegetables over time.  "Benami kheer, often referred to as lehsun ki kheer, was created in the Awadhi royal court. The name of this kheer, "Benami," which means "without a name," was withheld at first along with the list of ingredients. The trick to preparing this kheer is to master the technique of making the garlic completely odourless by blanching it in alum water and getting its slivers to resemble almond slivers."

• Garlic peeled- 100 Gram
• Alum powdered - 15 gm
• Milk- 1500 ML
• Cardamom powder- 2 gm
• Sugar-200 Gram
• Pistachios 20 gm
• Almonds 20 gm
• Rose water 10 ml
• Optional: Saffron few strands

Method

• Soak sliced garlic cloves for an hour in water. Boil them in 600 ml of water with 1/3 of an alum solution for around 10 minutes.
• Repeat this process two more times after straining and refreshing under running water.
• These cloves should be soaked in plain water for 5 minutes, lightly scrubbed, strained, and then washed one more under running water.
• Heat the milk and cut these cloves in halves. 
• Add sugar, cardamom powder, rose water, blanched garlic, and optional saffron. Cook it for 10 minutes.
• Serve cold.