Orange Kheer Recipe Komola Kheer Whiskaffair

on Oct 28, 2024 I have tried many variations of kheer in the past and shared the recipes. Here are some of my favorites that you must try too – Thandai Kheer, Badam Kheer, Sabudana Kheer, Makhana Kheer, and Paneer Kheer. The Nagpur Orange season is back and I am ordering kilograms of them to munch on or juice. But the food blogger brain in me is also looking out for recipes where I can use them. This Bengali Komola Kheer recipe was sitting in my diary for long and so for the upcoming festive season, I decided to give it a try. What a delight it turned out to be.

About Orange Kheer

Kamala Lebu (pronounced Komola Lebu) is Santra (Orange) in Bengali and Payesh is Kheer. So Komola Kheer is basically a milk pudding flavored with oranges. It is a Bengali delicacy prepared especially in winter using seasonal oranges. It is also called Komalalebur Payesh in Bengali and Orange Kheer in hindi. Unlike the classic Rice Kheer, this orange kheer recipe doesn’t use rice. It is made by just reducing the milk and adding fresh orange pulp to it. Komola Kheer is a great dessert to make for festivals, get togethers or special occasions. It can also be serve for vrat (Hindu fasting days).

Storage Suggestions

Orange Kheer will stay good in the refrigerator for max 1-2 days. If you store it for a longer time, it may turn tangier and not taste good. To make this recipe vegan, use vegan milk like almond milk, cashew milk etc. Oranges are the star ingredient of this recipe. Use Darjeeling or Nagpur oranges to make komola kheer. Kinnow oranges also work great. Taste the oranges before using them in kheer. They must be sweet. If they are sour, the kheer may curdle. Discard the skin and the white membrane of the oranges and use only the flesh in this recipe. Sugar – Adjust the sweetness as per your taste by adding more or less sugar. I like my kheer mildly sweet and the sugar measurement in my recipe is according to my taste. You can replace sugar with honey or stevia as well. Cornstarch is optional but it makes the texture of the orange kheer very creamy. Adding it also quickens the kheer making process. Garnish the ready kheer with slivered dried nuts like almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts etc. They give a nice crunch to the otherwise soft kheer and also make it look nice. If you want to give the kheer a richer look, then you can top it with some silver or gold foil too. You can also add a little cardamom powder to flavor the orange kheer. I don’t add it as I like the orange flavor to shine. Remove the outer membrane from each segment and discard the seeds. Transfer the flesh (pulp) to a bowl and refrigerate it.

Reduce The Milk

Add 1 liter of whole milk to a nonstick pan. Heat it over medium heat until it starts to boil. Stir frequently to prevent the milk from scorching at the bottom of the pan. Once the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the milk is reduced to half its original quantity. Keep stirring and scraping the sides of the pan after every 10-12 minutes. Add 4 tablespoon sugar and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Now, taste the kheer and add more sugar if it is not perfectly sweet as per your taste. Remove the pan from the heat and let the kheer cool down to room temperature. Now cover the pan with cling wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Garnish with almond and pistachio slivers and serve. If using vegan milk, cook only on low heat and stir frequently; otherwise, the milk may curdle while cooking from high heat. Do not freeze it as it may curdle once thawed.