Rice with coconut milk and turmeric leaves (Cheppi kheeri/Kheeri)

Rice with coconut milk and turmeric leaves is a popular dish in India. It’s easy to cook, but it can be time-consuming if you’re not familiar with the ingredients.

Konkani rice kheer is a traditional dessert from the state of Goa, India. It is made with rice, coconut milk and turmeric leaves.

Kheeri, a Konkani rice delicacy, is a must-have during monsoon celebrations. To make it flavorful, delicious, creamy, and light, rice is cooked with turmeric leaves and coconut milk. The simple addition of coconut milk and turmeric leaves transforms ordinary rice into something flavorful, delicious, and unique. The coconut milk’s richness and the lovely fragrance of turmeric leaves infuse the rice as it cooks.

This simple rice dish is packed with flavor. With only a pinch of salt, kheeri may be relished. Pair kheeri with a spicy raw mango pickle to enhance the flavor. Life is pure joy! Yum!!! This rice dish is traditionally served with cucumbers in a spicy coconut chutney (thoushe sasam in Konkani) and a curry of various vegetables in a spicy coconut sauce (gajbaj ambat in Konkani). 

Lunch and supper include kheeri as part of the main dish. You go on to your regular rice and curry after a few laddles of kheeri. And don’t be shocked if everyone starts slurping kheeri.. slurping kheeri.. slurping kheeri.. slurping kheeri.. slurping kheeri.. slurping kheer Slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp s It has a lovely and delectable flavor.

In Konkani, kheeri is also known as cheppi kheeri. (In Konkani, cheepi means bland.) 

The beautiful fragrance of turmeric leaves fills Konkani houses when the monsoons arrive, and turmeric leaves grow in profusion. When turmeric leaves are used in cooking, they emit a wonderful fragrance throughout the home. This turmeric scent conjures up images of celebrations in my mind. The reason for this is because during the monsoon, kheeri and patholi (sweet rice dumplings cooked in turmeric leaves) are a must-have for festivities. On Krishna Janmashtami, Vayana pooja (a Konkani celebration for married ladies), Ganesh chaturthi, and other festivals, kheeri is given as a gift to god (naivedyam). How many of you get nostalgic every time you use turmeric leaves in a recipe? Even when I prepare cucumber idlis (thoushe muddo in Konkani) with turmeric leaves, I am filled with joy.

The following is the Kheeri recipe. Make some with love and share them with your loved ones. 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 pound rice
• 1.5 cups shredded fresh coconut
• 2 turmeric leaves (fresh)

Serves 1-2 people, depending on how much kheeri you want.

Time to Prepare: 30 minutes

Method of Preparation:

1. Cook rice until done, either on the stovetop or in a rice cooker. 

Instead of neatly separated rice grains, mushy rice is preferable for kheeri. When preparing rice for kheeri, add a little more water or cook the rice for a bit longer than usual. 

Sona masuri is the finest choice for kheeri.

In the meanwhile, make fresh coconut milk using grated fresh coconut. 

How to make fresh coconut milk: 

Nothing beats a glass of fresh coconut milk made from freshly shredded coconut.

2. Combine 1.5 cups shredded coconut and 1.5 cups water in a blender and mix for one minute. 

3. Using a strainer, drain the coconut mixture and collect the coconut milk in a container.

4. Squeeze out all of the coconut milk, then re-grind the shredded coconut for a minute with a cup of water. 

5. Strain the coconut milk into a separate container since this batch will be diluted.

6. In a cooking pot, combine cooked rice and diluted coconut milk and bring to a boil over medium heat.

7. Thoroughly wash the turmeric leaves before chopping them up and adding them to the cooking kheeri.

8. Whole turmeric leaves are wrapped and tied into knots, as seen in the image below, and then put to boiling kheeri. Knots keep the leaves from getting in the way when eating kheeri.

9. To keep the kheeri from adhering to the bottom of the cooking pan, stir it occasionally.

10. Once the kheeri has reached a boil and the diluted coconut milk has thoroughly mixed with the cooked rice, stir in the thick, concentrated coconut milk you extracted earlier.

11. Allow for a minute or two of simmering. 

12. Remove the coconut milk from the heat after it has thoroughly blended with the cooked rice. Kheeri should be somewhat liquid but not too so, since it will dry up and thicken with time.

Suggestions for serving

1. Serve the kheeri hot, with a sprinkle of salt and a spicy raw mango pickle on the side.

2. Serve sizzling hot kheeri with salt, cucumbers in a spicy coconut chutney (thoushe sasam in Konkani), and a mixed vegetable coconut stew (gajbaj ambat in Konkani).

3. You may eat kheeri with only salt to taste it in its purest form.

Most importantly, the more coconut milk you use in kheeri, the more delicious it becomes. To make a lot of coconut milk, use a lot of fresh shredded coconut. Don’t be stingy when it comes to the coconut milk.

Tags: cheppi kheeri, Ganesh chathurthi special, Janmashtami special, vayana pooja dishes, kheeri, Konkani recipe, Konkani dish, Konkani cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Mangalore food, Konkani food, lunch, festival food, dinner, turmeric leaves, cheppi kheeri, Ganesh chathurthi special, Janmashtami special, Vayana pooja dishes

Chauthi

Rice with coconut milk and turmeric leaves is a recipe from the southern Indian state of Karnataka, known as Mangalore style. It is made by cooking rice with vegetables in a gravy of coconut milk, spices, and turmeric. Reference: mixed vegetable curry mangalorean style.

Related Tags

• konkani rice recipes
• konkani coconut curry
• mixed vegetable konkani recipes
• konkani recipes gajbaje
• mangalorean veg curry