Kheer or Meoa ( bn, ক্ষীর) is a sweet from the

Bengal region Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. It is not only a sweet by itself, but it is also used as the main ingredient of many other sweets. In

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

Kheer Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur whe ...

(Payesam) is a type of rice pudding. But in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, in the same spelling and sound, Kheer is a completely different dish. It is very similar to the

Khoa Khoa, khoya, khowa or mawa is a dairy food widely used in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. It is l ...

but with its own distinct flavour and texture.

Preparation Process

To prepare Kheer (evaporated milk), cow or buffalo milk is the key ingredient. Pure milk is boiled over an hour to make one-third of its original volume. This is Kheer. Sometimes to make a more sweet and different taste

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

Arrowroot Arrowroot is a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock) of several tropical plants, traditionally ''Maranta arundinacea'', but also Florida arrowroot from ''Zamia integrifolia'', and tapioca from cassava (''Manihot esculenta''), which is oft ...

, Suji are mixed with it during boiling, but the taste of the unadulterated version is very different and tastes more authentic. To make

, the boiling process is extended to reduce the original volume to a fourth or fifth. Khoa is harder than Kheer. This hardness makes a difference to the taste, and is the difference Khoa (milk solids) and Kheer (evaporated milk).

Uses

As in

, kheer is one of the most important ingredients for making

sweets Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

, it has a high demand in the market. In terms of hardness, it can be categorized in two forms: * Khoa – hard kheer * Kheer – semi-liquid kheer Khoa is used to make some

Bengali sweets Bengali cuisine ( bn, বাঙ্গালী রন্ধনপ্রণালী) is the culinary style of Bengal, a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent encompassing Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura ...

kansat Kansat ( bn, কানসাট) is an Indian sweet from Malda, West Bengal, India. Kansat is made from chhena Chhena () or chhana () are a style of cheese, originating from the Indian subcontinent, made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Che ...

. Kheer is used for Rosmalai like sweets, where small balls of

chhena Chhena () or chhana () are a style of cheese, originating from the Indian subcontinent, made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil Vegetarian C ...

are immersed in kheer.

Some related sweets

* Kheerkadam (ক্ষীরকদম) * Kansat (কানসাট) * Kheer er borfi (ক্ষীরের বরফি) * Pat kheer (পাতক্ষীর)

Kheer in literature

Abanindranath Tagore Abanindranath Tagore ( Bengali: অবনীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 August 1871 – 5 December 1951) was the principal artist and creator of the "Indian Society of Oriental Art". He was also the first major exponent of Sw ...

wrote a story of two queens of a King, titled as Kheer er putul, means ''a doll made with kheer''. In this story, one queen made her virtual son with Kheer and sent for marriage. Somehow Shathi Thakur (a

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

) ate it but captured as she stole this doll and in reply, she gave a son to that queen.

In idioms

There is a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

idioms An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

circulated in Bengal i.e. Means ''if you keep your

patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...

in your work then you must see the success'', as after devoting over an hour to boil milk to make delicious kheer. This

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

is customary to

Bengali people Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of S ...

and is used very often to advise someone.

References

{{Culture of West Bengal Bengali cuisine Indian dairy products