Orange kheer or santre ki kheer also known as Komola kheer is a delicious dessert recipe from the Eastern region of India. One of the many kheer recipes from India, this easy dessert is made with fresh oranges, milk and dry fruits.
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The Indian festival season has started with Navratri today. This festival will be celebrated for nine nights and there will be many more festivals in the coming months. So, you will find many festival recipes on my blog during the next few months.
I am starting today with a very easy and simple dessert recipe – Orange kheer.
What is kheer?
Kheer is something like pudding from the Indian subcontinent. It’s made by slow cooking of milk with different ingredients which creates different variations of kheer. The most popular ones are chawal ki kheer (Rice kheer), Sabudana kheer (Tapioca pearls kheer), and Seviyan kheer (Vermicelli kheer).
Orange kheer is a kheer recipe which not even every Indian is aware of. It’s a specialty of the East Indian states like West Bengal and Assam. In the regional language, it’s known as Komola kheer or Kamlalebu kheer.
I know about this recipe because, my best friend was Bengali and her mother who was a good friend of my mother, shared this recipe with her.
How to make Orange kheer?
There are a few little tips to make a perfect orange kheer.
- Simmer the milk on low flame with patience till it thickens and changes color. If you don’t do this properly, the dish will taste just like milk and orange.
- After the first boil, add chopped dry fruits to the milk and let them cook with milk on slow heat. It will make the orange kheer yummier and creamier.
- Allow the thickened milk to reach room temperature before adding the orange and orange zest. This is the most important point and if you don’t take care of it, the milk will get curdled.
- Use a sweet variety of orange, not the sour one.
- Since the flavor of orange pulp is not very strong, use orange zest too to enhance the orange flavor.
More easy orange recipes
Looking for more orange recipes? Don’t miss to check the following recipes on this blog:
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Step by step photo instructions
Orange kheer - an easy Indian dessert
Ingredients
- 1 ltr full cream milk
- 2 medium-sized oranges sweet variety
- 2 tbsp chopped dry fruits I have used chopped almonds, and cashew nuts. You can use any dry fruit of your choice.
- 5 tbsp sugar adjust as per taste
- ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
- Zest of 1.5 oranges
Instructions
- Boil milk in a pot. After the first boil, add chopped dry fruits and cook the milk on low flame till it thickens and changes color, It will take around 40-45 minutes. Keep on stirring in between to ensure that the milk doesn't get burnt or stick to the bottom.
- While the milk is boiling peel the oranges, remove the pith and seeds and roughly chop the pulp.
- Once the milk is done, add sugar, mix well, boil for another 2-3 minutes and then switch off the gas. Allow the milk to reach room temperature.
- When the milk gets cold, add the orange pulp and zest, mix and keep in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours, If you don't want it chilled, serve it at room temperature but never heat it after adding the oranges.
- To serve, just garnish with chopped dry fruits and enjoy!
This sounds and looks delicious! I don’t have the ingredients to try it right now but will certainly save to try in the future.
Thanks a lot Tamara 🙂