Bengali Payesh, also known as Chaler Payesh, is a traditional sweet delicacy from Bengal made by simmering fragrant gobindobhog rice in milk and sugar. It is an integral part of Bengali cuisine and culture, often prepared during festivals, special occasions, and celebrations such as birthdays, weddings (biyebari), rice-feeding ceremony (onnoprason), etc.
Traditionally, Bengali payesh is flavored with bay leaf and cardamom.Rarely, additional spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, saffron and rose water are added to enhance the flavor.
Bengali payesh recipe with gur is a popular dish especially during winter season. You can find our family favorite Bengali payesh with jaggery recipe in my blog.
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Best Bengali Payesh Recipe Ingredients
Rice: The primary ingredient of this recipe is rice. Gobindobhog (a special variety of fragrant rice) rice is used for this recipe hence, it is also known as gobindobhog chaler payesh. In India if you are not in Bengal, you can order online easily. In other countries it is mostly available in Bangladeshi stores. If you don't have this rice, you can substitute sona masoori, jeera samba rice, bullet rice, or another short-grained, mildly aromatic rice.
Milk: Use full cream milk for this recipe.
Ghee: I use desi ghee here for sauteing the rice.
Sugar: Another important ingredient is sugar, which is used to sweeten the kheer.
Dry fruits & Nuts: Cashew nuts, raisins, etc.
Others: Bay leaf, cardamom, etc.
How to Make Bengali Kheer or Payesh
Follow the step-by-step guide below and learn to make this simple Bengali payesh recipe.
I always prefer to make this payesh with easily available ingredients, but if you have less time, you may alternatively prepare Bengali payesh recipe with condensed milk.
The process of making payesh is easy and anyone can make it. The best part about the recipe is that it just needs a few ingredients.
Wash and soak the rice for 10-12 minutes, then drain the water. Meanwhile, heat the pan and add the ghee. Roast the cashew nuts and raisins and set them aside.
In the remaining ghee, add the bay leaf and the soaked rice, and coat thoroughly.
Slowly add milk to the rice and stir over low to medium heat. This step is critical for preventing rice from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan.
As the rice boils, the amount of milk reduces considerably. Continue scraping out the milk fat that has gathered along the sides. This will make the payesh creamy in texture.
Continue cooking over low heat until the rice is fully cooked. Take a grain of rice out of the pan and hold it between your thumb and forefinger. If the rice is finished, crush it almost to a paste.
Stir in the sugar and allow it to completely dissolve. Cook for a few minutes after adding the sugar, which provides moisture. When the rice is visible, and the kheer has reached the desired consistency.
Add the fried cashew nuts and raisins, then cover and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.
Bengali Chaler Payesh is ready. You can serve it right away or refrigerate it before serving.
Storage
If you want to store payesh, then allow it cool and then transfer to an airtight container. Store the container in refrigerator for up to 5-6 days.
Top tips
Here I am sharing few important tips which will help you to prepare a delicious Bengali chaler payesh recipe:
- Always use full fat milk which will result in creamy texture of the payesh.
- Avoid soaking the rice for too long since it may break.
- Add the sugar once the rice is cooked. If you add sugar before, then rice will not get cooked properly.
- Another important tip is to add raisins after adding sugar; otherwise, milk may curdle.
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Bengali Payesh
Materials
- ⅓ cup Gobindobhog Rice
- ⅔ cup Sugar use as per your sweet tooth
- 1 lit Milk
- 1 tablespoon Ghee
- 8-10 nos Cashew Nuts
- 8-10 nos Raisins
- 1 no Bay Leaf
Instructions
- Wash and soak the rice for 10-12 mins and later drain the water.
- Meanwhile, heat a pan and add ghee. Roast cashew nuts and raisins and keep them aside.
- Now, in the remaining ghee, add bay leaf and the soaked rice and coat thoroughly with ghee.
- Slowly add milk to the rice and keep stirring under low to medium heat.
- The amount of milk will also significantly reduce as the rice cooks. Continue scraping off the milk fat that has accumulated on the sides.
- Continue cooking over low heat until the rice is properly done.
- Take a grain of rice out of the pan and place it between your thumb and forefinger. If the rice is done, you can mash it almost to a paste.
- Stir in the sugar and let it thoroughly dissolve. Cook for a few minutes after adding the sugar because it adds moisture. When the rice is visible, and the kheer has achieved the proper consistency.
- Add fried cashew nuts and raisins and allow to stand for 5 to 10 minutes by covering with a lid.
- Bengali Chaler Payesh is ready. You can serve it immediately or keep it in the fridge and serve it chilled.
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