Ingredients
Base
- ½ cup (100g) small sabudana (tapioca pearls)
- 1 litre full-fat milk
- ½ cup (100g) sugar, adjust to taste
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp ghee
Optional aromatics
- Pinch of saffron strands, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
Garnish
- 2 tbsp cashews, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp raisins
Instructions
Soak
- Rinse sabudana briefly under cold water.
- Place in a bowl and cover with just enough water so the pearls are barely submerged — about ½ cup water for ½ cup sabudana. Too much water makes them waterlogged and mushy.
- Soak for 20–30 minutes until each pearl has swollen to roughly double its size and feels soft when pressed with a finger but still holds its shape. Drain completely.
Fry the garnish
- Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Fry cashews 1–2 minutes until golden; remove and set aside. Fry raisins 30 seconds until they puff; remove and set aside.
Simmer
- Bring milk to a boil in the same pan, stirring so it doesn't scorch.
- Add the drained sabudana. Stir immediately — the pearls tend to clump together when they first hit hot milk.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pearls turn completely translucent with no white center. This is the doneness cue — any white opaque center means the inside is still starchy and gritty.
- The milk will thicken slightly from the starch released by the pearls.
Sweeten and finish
- Add sugar and cardamom. Stir well and cook another 3–4 minutes.
- Add saffron milk if using. Stir through and remove from heat.
Serve
- Transfer to a serving dish or bowls. Top with fried cashews and raisins.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. For chilled kheer, let it cool completely first.
Storage
- Fridge: Up to 2 days. The pearls continue to absorb milk as they sit — the kheer will be much thicker the next day. Stir in warm milk to loosen.
- Reheat: Stovetop over low heat with a splash of milk. Stir gently to avoid breaking the pearls.
- Freeze: Not recommended — the pearls become gummy and unpleasant.
Variations
- Coconut milk: Replace half the dairy milk with full-fat coconut milk for a South Indian–style version. Add it after the pearls are translucent to avoid breaking the coconut milk with prolonged heat.
- Jaggery: Substitute grated jaggery for sugar; add off the heat to prevent curdling. It gives a warm, caramel-like sweetness that works well here.
- No-ghee version: Skip the ghee entirely for strict fasting observance — the kheer is perfectly good without it.
Notes
- Small sabudana pearls cook faster and have a more delicate texture. Large pearls (tapioca boba size) need a longer simmer and turn chewier — not the intended result here.
- The translucency test is more reliable than timing — different pearl sizes and soaking times will need different cook times.
- If the kheer thickens too quickly before the pearls are fully translucent, add a splash of hot milk and keep simmering.
- See also: Sooji Kheer for a quicker, completely smooth kheer with no soaking required.
Added Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026