Payes Or Rice Kheer

Ingredients:
Kamini atap or Gabindobhog or Ambemohar Rice: 100gms

Milk: 1 ½ litre

Sugar: 150gms

Ghee: 1 teaspoon

Cashew nuts,chopped: 1/2 cup

Raisins: 1/4 cup,soaked in water

Green cardamom : 3 or 4

Pistachio,chopped:2 tbsp

Bay leaf: 1 or 2

Saffron:few threads (optional)

Hot water:2-3 cups or little more

Method:

Wash the rice 3 to 4 times and soak in water for half an hour or at least 10 minutes.

Drain the water thoroughly & let it dry in clean cloth by spreading the rice in thin layer for 15 minutes.

Heat ghee in a kadai/wok & temper the bay leaves for a minute & saute the rice for 2 minutes.

Colour of the rice should not be changed.

Transfer the rice in a pressure cooker.

Add 2 cups of water,cover the lid & cook for 2 whistles.

Remove from the flame.

Wait for few minutes to release the steam.

Open the lid and check the consistency of the cooked rice.

The rice should be 75% cooked.

You can cook the rice in your microwave oven,too.

Now boil the milk in very low flame, and let it condense till it become almost ¾ its original volume.

Add the cooked rice,cashew & sugar & keep on flame till the sugar melts.

The consistency of the payes/kheer should be medium-not too runny or thick as the rice becomes starchy 

or sticky slowly and it will make the kheer thick subsequently.

Remove it from the flame,add the cardamom, threads of saffron (optional),raisins & pistachio & cover with a lid.

Refrigerate it before serving.