Doodhpak or Rice Kheer or Rice Pudding is a delightful and luxurious, traditional old fashioned Indian rice pudding prepared using rice, milk, nuts, and aromatic spices. This is dessert meant for the royals!
, Ghee Rice. I would love to know which one is your most favorite 🙂
It’s mixed feeling for me today. These 9 days were filled with full of happiness and joy. It just passed like flash of light. But upcoming Diwali festival keeps my enthusiasm high. Have you planned anything for Diwali yet? I really want to post some interesting facts and recipes for the same. Meanwhile you can also check my post on Diwali sweet recipes and Diwali snacks recipes.
Ok now back to doodhpak, I can only say BEST FOR THE LAST plus it’s my father-in-laws birthday!!! I could not find any better occasion to prepare this appetizing sweet.
This doodhpak or Rice Kheer recipe is different from doodhpak prepared in Gujarat. The ingredients remains the same but time to prepare this dish and the ratio of rice to milk varies. The recipe below is very popular in coastal Karnataka specially with Konkani community and can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.
First, use good aromatic rice like basmati or jeera to make doodh pak. Next add additional flavor to the dish. This is optional but doing so will take your dish to the next level. To do this saute the rice in butter or ghee for not more than 2 minutes. To this add cardamom skin (seeds will be crushed and used for the recipe), cloves, water, and cook the rice.
Once the rice is cooked, add milk, saffron strands, and simmer on low flame. Keep stirring to avoid it from sticking at the bottom. Once the rice is soft and cooked through, add sugar and simmer for few more minutes till the sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickens. You can check the sweetness and adjust the sugar accordingly. See that you add sugar only when rice is cooked through completely.
In another pan, add ghee or butter and roast the dry fruits and nuts of your choice. Add this to the kheer along with cardamom powder and simmer for 1 more minute for the flavors to get infused. Doodhpak or Kheer is now ready. You can serve it hot or chilled. It tastes great anyways.
A variation to doodhpak is to use sabudana (tapioca pearls) instead of rice or combine the two. The time to cook sabudana and rice are different so I avoid combining the two ingredients together. Another way to prepare Kheer is using Semolina-sevia or vermicelli, which also tastes great and is easy to prepare.
Few tips : Doodhpak is a thick dessert but it gets dry or thick in consistency as it cools down. To adjust this add more milk or water. For the best results use full fat milk. Keep stirring it to avoid any burning from the bottom. There is not exact ratio for rice, milk and sugar. All three ingredients can be varied as per ones taste.
This is one Indian dessert that can be prepared for any occasions like birthdays, anniversary or for festivals like Diwali, Holi, Ramnavmi, Christmas.
Step wise recipe for Doodhpak or Kheer

Doodhpak is a delightful and luxurious, traditional old fashioned Indian rice pudding prepared using rice, milk, nuts, and aromatic spices. This is dessert meant for the royals!
- 3/4 cup Basmati Rice
- 1 1/2 tbsp Ghee (brown butter)
- 4 to 5 Cardamom pods (vary as per taste)
- 2 Cloves
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 6 to 7 Saffron strands
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup Sugar (Vary as per taste)
- 2 tbsp Cashews broken
- 2 tbsp Almonds broken
- 1 tbsp Raisins
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In a pan, add rice, 1/2 tbsp of ghee and saute it on medium flame just for a minute or two.
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Remove the skin of cardamom and separate the seeds. Crush the seeds in mortar and pestle and keep it aside.
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Add the cardamom skin (just to add flavor), cloves, and approx 1 1/4 cup of water. Once it comes to a boil, simmer it for 10 minutes till the rice is cooked through.
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To the cooked rice, add whole milk, saffron strands, and simmer on medium to medium-low flame stirring it frequently till the rice becomes soft.
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Add the sugar and continue stirring till the mixture thickens. Start with 1/2 cup, check the sweetness and vary sugar as per your taste. If kheer or rice pudding becomes too thick (dry), you can add more milk or water.
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In another pan add remaining 1 tbsp of ghee and roast almonds and cashews. Once they turn light brown in color, add raisins and switch off the flame.
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Add the roasted nuts along with crushed cardamom powder to the kheer and simmer for one more minute. Switch off the flame.
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Doodhpak is now ready. Serve hot or chilled and enjoy.
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I can’t have dairy, but it sounds like this recipe could be delicious with coconut milk so I’m going to try it! Also, my 4-year-old loves anything with rice, so I think he’ll be excited about dessert rice. 🙂
This looks super interesting! I’ve mever had rice pudding, but I’d like to try it.
Kasey Ma
TheStyleWright.com
This looks super interesting, I’d love to try it!
Kasey Ma
TheStyleWright.com
I would love to try some of this. My husband said he loves the stuff.
This looks great!! We will have to give it a try!
I love rice pudding but have never had Doodhpak! I love finding these fun recipes from other cultures! I can’t wait to make this for hubby and myself!
Love the sound of this version if rice pudding. Recipes from around the world are fun to make and fun to eat. I will have to try this one out soon.
This sounds delicious! Anything with roasted almonds and I’m sold 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
We’ve been wanting to make kheer for so long! We love it and have been intimidated in trying. This might be the time we make it! Thank you!
I remember i tried this rice pudding before when i visited my Indian friends. So delicious and sweet!
I have a bunch of basmati rice that needs something tasty to be done with it – this looks like the right fit! My friend loves rice pudding so I’m going to try this as a special holiday treat for him.
I love the smell of cardamom and saffron – I bet I would love this!
I’m looking to make new recipes for the New Year and this is just easy enough to try for my friends. I love how delicious rice pudding is and I’m going to make this next.
Kheer on any day is welcome in our family. It’s a regular meal item in our home and my son never gets bored of kheer. If not for anyone I always make for my son haha. Looks delicious
I have never heard of kheer, but it looks yummy! I love the flavour combination in this dish. Pinned!
This rice pudding looks so delicious! My mom would make it for breakfast now and then and it was such a treat.
This is the best rice pudding recipe I’ve ever tried! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Love the sound of this lovely dessert! I bet the spices smell divine!
What a tasty and unique recipe! I’ve never tried this before, but you’ve inspired me to give it a try! Yum!
We always get this when we go to Indian buffet, even when we are already completely full! Now have to learn to cook it myself with your recipe. 🙂
I like the idea of putting something crunchy on top!
What a delicious rice dessert! I love all the flavors in it! So pretty with the toppings!
I love rice pudding in any shape or form. Your version with all the nuts as well as saffron sounds and looks absolutely beautiful and luxurious! Can’t wait to try it!
I love rice pudding! This looks delicious!
Yum! I love rice pudding. This was so good.
I don’t tend to think of rice in a sweet dish but you sure make it look so good!
This looks delicious, the pudding looks so smooth and delicious. I love that you flavor it with spices!
Rice pudding is total comfort food, and so nostalgic for me. This looks delicious.
I have been getting back in to rice pudding recently and exploring different ones from around the world. I love the sound of the flavors in this – cardamon is a big favorite so I am sure I’ll like this! Interesting to hear how this varies as well.
I love traditional desserts, and this one is so lovely! What a beautiful combination of flavour and spice.
This is one of my favorite dessert! Looks so good.
We have a similar rice pudding in Sweden for Christmas – but this I think will be my new favorite version! So much great spices in there, yum!
This looks like an amazing after dinner pudding and it has cardamom in which is my favourite spice.
I love creamy rice pudding and I am glad to see no skin. I hate rice pudding with a skin. I will have to try your idea of adding nuts to it the next time I make it. I’ve never tried that before.