Paneer kheer (aka paneer payasam) is a delicious and creamy Indian dessert made with crumbled or shredded paneer, milk, and sugar infused with saffron, cardamom, and dried fruits.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
- 4 cups full-fat milk
- 200 grams paneer (shredded, (about 2 cups))
- 1/2 cup sugar
- few saffron strands
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2-3 tablespoons nuts ((pistachios & almonds))
Method
- First, thoroughly wash the paneer under water and grate the paneer using a box grater and set aside. I used a 200 grams paneer block. If using homemade paneer, crumble it.
- Heat 1 liter of full-fat milk on medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pan. Once the milk has come to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Keep stirring at regular intervals to prevent the milk in the bottom of the pan from burning.
- Then add sugar and saffron strands to the pan and stir well until the sugar dissolves. If you don't want to use saffron, you can also skip it. Continue to cook further for another 3-4 minutes until the kheer thickens slightly.
- Add the grated paneer (or chenna) and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Lastly, stir in the cardamom powder and nuts. Mix well. Take the kheer off the stove. It will thicken further as it cools down. Serve Paneer Kheer warm or chilled.
Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note
Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.