Kheer (Bengali sweets) facts for kids
Bengali Kheer flavoured with Palmyra fruit
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| Alternative names | Meowa (মেওয়া) |
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| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh |
| Region or state | Bengal |
| Associated national cuisine | India |
| Serving temperature | Room Temperature |
| Main ingredients | Cow's milk |
| Similar dishes | Khoa |
Kheer (pronounced "keer") or Meoa is a yummy sweet dish from the Bengal region in the Indian subcontinent. It's not just a dessert on its own; it's also a key ingredient in many other delicious sweets. While Kheer in North India is often a type of rice pudding, in Bengal, it's a special milk-based sweet with its own unique taste and feel. It's a bit like Khoa, another milk sweet, but Kheer has its own distinct charm.
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How Kheer is Made
Making Kheer starts with fresh milk, usually from cows or buffaloes. This milk is boiled for about an hour. The goal is to reduce the milk's volume to about one-third of what it was originally. This thick, rich milk is Kheer!
Sometimes, people add sugar, Arrowroot, or Suji while the milk is boiling. This can make it sweeter or give it a different texture. However, many people prefer the pure, simple taste of Kheer without any extra ingredients.
Kheer vs. Khoa
You might hear about Khoa, which is similar but different. To make Khoa, the milk is boiled for even longer. It's reduced to about one-fourth or one-fifth of its original volume. This longer cooking makes Khoa much harder than Kheer. The difference in how hard they are also changes their taste and how they are used. Kheer is a semi-liquid, evaporated milk, while Khoa is a harder milk solid.
How Kheer is Used
Kheer is a very important ingredient for making many different sweets in Bengal. Because of this, it's always in high demand. We can think of Kheer in two main forms based on how hard it is:
- Khoa – This is the harder version of Kheer.
- Kheer – This is the softer, semi-liquid version.
Khoa is often used to create certain Bengali sweets, like a dish called kansat. The softer Kheer is perfect for sweets like Rosmalai. In Rosmalai, small, soft balls made from chhena (a type of cheese) are soaked in sweet, creamy Kheer.
Some Sweets Made with Kheer
Many delicious sweets use Kheer as a main part. Here are a few examples:
- Kheerkadam (ক্ষীরকদম)
- Kansat (কানসাট)
- Kheer er borfi (ক্ষীরের বরফি)
- Pat kheer (পাতক্ষীর)
Kheer in Stories
A famous writer named Abanindranath Tagore once wrote a story called Kheer er Putul. This means "a doll made with Kheer." In the story, one of a king's queens made a pretend son out of Kheer. She even sent this "son" off to get married! A Goddess named Shathi Thakur accidentally ate the Kheer doll. To make up for it, she gave the queen a real son.
Kheer in Idioms
There's a well-known Bengali idiom that uses the word "Meoa" (another name for Kheer). It goes like this:
SOBURE MEOWA FOLE
In Bengali: সবুরে মেওয়া ফলে
This idiom means, "If you are patient in your work, you will surely succeed." It's like how you need to be patient and boil the milk for a long time to make delicious Kheer. Bengali people often use this idiom to give advice to others.
