Kheer (Bengali sweets)

Kheer or Meoa (Bengali: ক্ষীর) is a sweet from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent.[1] It is not only a sweet, as it is also used as main ingredient of many other sweets. In North India, Kheer (Payesam) is a type of rice pudding. But in Bengal, in the same spelling and sound, Kheer is a completely different dish. It is very similar to the Khoa but with its own distinct flavour and texture.

Kheer (ক্ষীর)
Bengali Kheer flavoured with Palmyra fruit
Alternative namesMeowa (মেওয়া)
CourseDessert
Place of originBengal region of the Indian subcontinent
Region or stateBengal
Associated national cuisineIndia
Serving temperatureRoom Temperature
Main ingredientsCow's milk
Similar dishesKhoa

Preparation

To prepare Kheer (evaporated milk), cow or buffalo milk is the only 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, Arrowroot, Suji are mixed with it during boiling, but the taste of the unadulterated version is very different and tastes more authentic.[1]

To make Khoa, 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).[1]

Uses

As in Bengal kheer is one of the most important ingredients for making sweets, it has a high demand in the market. In terms of hardness, it can be categorised in two forms:

  • Khoa – hard kheer
  • Kheer – semi-liquid kheer

Khoa is used to make some Bengali sweets like kansat.

Kheer is used for Rosmalai like sweets, where small balls of channa are immersed in kheer.

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

Kheer in literature

Abanindranath Tagore wrote a story of two Queens of a King, titled as Kheer er putul,[2] 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) ate it but captured as she stole this doll and in reply, she gave a son to that queen.[3]

In idioms

There is a Bengali idioms circulated in Bengal i.e.

SOBURE MEOWA FOLE

In Bengali: সবুরে মেওয়া ফলে

Means if you keep your patience in your work then you must see the success, as after devoting over an hour to boil milk to make delicious kheer. This idiom is common to Bengali people and is used frequently to advise someone.

References
  1. Mukherjee, Bipradas (1905). Mistinno pak (মিষ্টান্ন পাক). Bengal Medical Library.
  2. "ক্ষীরের পুতুল - উইকিসংকলন একটি মুক্ত পাঠাগার". bn.m.wikisource.org (in Bengali). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  3. "ক্ষীরের পুতুল, অবনীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর/Kheerer Putul, Abanindranath Thakur". animikhRabindranath. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
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