https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=KheerKheer - Revision history2026-07-31T01:46:21ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Kheer&diff=452952&oldid=prevVictorhcm at 14:50, 28 March 20262026-03-28T14:50:35Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Sweet pudding dish from Indian subcontinent}}<br />
{{distinguish|Kheer (Bengali sweets)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2024}} <br />
{{Infobox food<br />
| name = Kheer<br />
| image = Kheer.jpg<br />
| image_size = 300px<br />
| caption = A bowl of kheer<br />
| alternate_name = ksheeram, doodhpak, meetha bhat (sometimes misunderstood as mayasam)<br />
| country = [[South Asia]]<br />
| region = <br />
| creator = <br />
| course = Dessert<br />
| served = <br />
| main_ingredient = Rice, milk, sugar, [[cardamom]], [[jaggery]], [[saffron]], [[pistachio]]s or [[almond]]s<br />
| variations = [[Vermicelli]] (semiya) kheer, [[Barley]] kheer, kaddu ki kheer, paal (milk) payasam, payesh, chhanar payesh (payesh made with chhana or paneer)<br />
| calories = 249<br />
| other = <br />
| type = Pudding<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Kheer''', '''khir, payesh, fenni''' or '''payasam''' is a [[pudding]] or [[porridge]] (specifically [[rice pudding]]) popular in the [[Indian subcontinent]], usually made by boiling [[milk]], [[sugar]] or [[jaggery]], and [[rice]]. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, [[cardamom]] and [[saffron]]. Instead of rice, it may contain [[cracked wheat]], vermicelli ([[sevai]]), [[sago]] or [[Tapioca#Tapioca pearls|tapioca]] (sabudana).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Best rated puddings in the world |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-puddings-in-the-world |access-date= |website=www.tasteatlas.com}}</ref><br />
<br />
In Northern India, it is made in various ways. The most popular versions are the ones made with rice and [[vermicelli]] (semiya).<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Best rated puddings in the world |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-puddings-in-the-world |access-date= |website=www.tasteatlas.com}}</ref> In Nepal, it tends to be thicker and uses fewer ingredients.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 September 2025 |title=Have No Fear, You Can Make Kheer Here! – The Wesleyan Argus |url=https://wesleyanargus.com/2013/10/28/kheer/ |access-date=18 September 2025 |language=en-US}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Etymology==<br />
The word ''kheer'' is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word ''[[kshira]]'' (क्षीर), which means [[milk]] or a "milk-based dish".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monier-Williams |first=Sir Monier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzRDAQAAMAAJ&dq=Kshira+milk&pg=PA268 |title=A Sanskṛit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged: With Special Reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and Other Cognate Indo-European Languages |date=1872 |publisher=Clarendon Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kheer: An Essential Dish {{!}} Civilization of India |url=https://people.smu.edu/hist2390/2020/06/29/kheer-an-essential-dish/ |access-date=10 September 2024 |website=people.smu.edu}}</ref> Kheer is also the archaic name for sweet [[rice pudding]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2013 |title=DS group enters dairy market, with 'ksheer' - Hindustan Times |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/ds-group-enters-dairy-market-with-ksheer/article1-1112050.aspx |access-date=10 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220090554/http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/ds-group-enters-dairy-market-with-ksheer/article1-1112050.aspx |archive-date=20 December 2013 }}</ref> <br />
<br />
The word ''payasam'' used in [[South India]] for kheer originates from the [[Sanskrit]] term ''pāyasa'' (पायस), which means "milk" or a dish made from milk. This term evolved into various regional languages, including [[Malayalam]] (പായസം, pāyasaṁ), [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (పాయసం, pāyasaṁ), and [[Tamil Nadu|Tamil]] (பாயசம், pāyacam).<ref>{{Cite web |title=payasam |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/payasam_n?tl=true#:~:text=Where%20does%20the%20noun%20payasam%20come%20from?&text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,:%20Tamil%20p%C4%81yasam;%20Sanskrit%20p%C4%81yasa. |website=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Origin==<br />
<br />
A story from [[Kerala]] titled "The Legend of Chessboard", holds that an old sage, who was [[Krishna]] in disguise, challenged the king of ''Ambalapuzha'' (chess enthusiasts) to a game. To motivate the sage, the king offered anything the old man would name. The sage modestly asked for a few grains of rice but with one condition: the king must put a single grain of rice on the first chess square and double it on every subsequent one.<br />
<br />
Krishna, as the sage, won the game and the king started placing the grains. As he stacked them, he was shocked to see the number grow exponentially. In the end, the number came up to trillions. Krishna reveals himself and asks the king to provide kheer to every pilgrim who comes to what is now the [[Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Swamy Temple|Ambalapuzha Krishna Temple]] in the [[Alappuzha district|Alappuzha District]], which still follows this command.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2020 |title=History of Indian Food |url=http://www.haldiramusa.com/History_Indian_Food.htm |access-date=25 April 2024 |website=Haldiram USA |archive-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118172506/http://www.haldiramusa.com/History_Indian_Food.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><br />
<br />
According to the food historian [[K. T. Achaya]], kheer (or ''payasam'', as it is known in South India) was a popular dish in [[ancient India]]. First mentioned in ancient Indian literature, it was a mixture of rice, milk and sugar. ''Payasam'' was also a staple food in [[Hindu]] [[Temple|temples]] in particular, where it is served as ''[[Prasāda]]'' to devotees.<ref name="ht">{{Cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/a-truly-international-dessert/story-kfaP9BbuLcuyvCr5A03VGL.html|title=A truly international dessert|date=3 October 2009|work=Hindustan Times}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Gallery ==<br />
<gallery><br />
File:Mixed Dry Fruit Kheer - Home - Chandigarh - India - 00011.jpg|Kheer topped with dried fruits and nuts<br />
File:Rice pudding also called payasam or kheer.jpg|Kheer<br />
File:Paal payasam.JPG|Paal payasam<br />
File:Milk kheer.jpg|Kheer with vermicelli (called seviyan kheer, semiya payasam or [[shemai]])<br />
File:Semiya Payasam Vermicelli Kheer.jpg|Vermicelli kheer<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Porridge]]<br />
* [[Phirni]] – a dessert made with ground rice or rice flour cooked in milk and eaten chilled<br />
* [[Shir Berenj]] – Persian rice pudding<br />
* [[Doodhpak]] – Gujarati rice pudding<br />
* [[Shemai]] – Bengali vermicelli pudding<br />
* [[Sheer khurma]] – Persian vermicelli pudding<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{Navboxes|list1 =<br />
{{Bangladeshi dishes}}<br />
{{Indian Dishes}}<br />
{{Pakistani dishes}}<br />
{{Puddings}}<br />
{{Rice pudding}}<br />
}}<br />
{{portalbar|Food}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Pakistani rice dishes]]<br />
[[Category:Bangladeshi rice dishes]]<br />
[[Category:Indian rice dishes]]<br />
[[Category:North Indian cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Muhajir cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Bihari cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Uttar Pradeshi cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Indian desserts]]<br />
[[Category:Nepalese cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Bangladeshi desserts]]<br />
[[Category:Cuisine of Odisha]]<br />
[[Category:Rice pudding]]<br />
[[Category:Telangana cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Hyderabadi cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Punjabi cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Fijian desserts]]<br />
[[Category:Kerala cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Tamil cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Indian cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Pakistani cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Sri Lankan cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Indo-Caribbean cuisine]]<br />
[[Category:Andhra cuisine]]</div>Victorhcm