Kheer ~ Indian rice pudding with Date compote and Lékué microwave rice and grain cooker giveaway

Rich and creamy rice pudding with fragrant cardamom and a delicious date and nut topping.

60 g short grain rice
250 ml water
400 ml  full cream milk
60 g sugar
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
few strands saffron
4 almonds for garnishing
6 pistachio nuts  for garnishing
6 medjool dates
60 ml boiling water

Method:

1.Wash the rice in cold water and soak it for 30 minutes.
2.After thirty minutes drain the rice and place it in the Lékué  microwave rice and grain cooker together with 250 ml water and cook on high for 20 minutes until rice is mushy and all the water is absorbed (alternatively you can cook the rice on the stove top.) (The rice needs to be overcooked and very soft)
3.While the rice is cooking , take a heavy bottom pan and pour the milk in it and bring it to a gentle simmer, continue simmering the milk to thicken and reduce it  for 20 minutes.
4.  Once the rice is cooked transfer all the cooked rice to the hot milk, add the sugar and simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring the rice pudding every couple of minutes as not to scorch it.
5. Once rice pudding has thickened add the cardamom powder and saffron and mix it in.
6. Take the pan off the heat and transfer the rice pudding to a bowl. Keep stirring it every few minutes until it cools this will stop any skin forming on it.
7.To make the date compote chop up the dates finely and place them in a small bowl. Add boiling water to the dates and leave for 30 minutes.
8.After 30 minutes mash up the dates in the liquid using the back of a spoon until thick and pulpy.
9.Slice the almonds and pistachio nuts in to thin slivers and keep aside.
10. To serve spoon the rice pudding in serving glasses .Add a spoonful of date compote on the top and garnish with the almond and pistachio slivers.

I precooked my rice in the  Lékué  microwave rice and grain cooker, it is very useful to have as it cooks rice without any fuss and the container is stylish so you can cook and serve the rice straight from the microwave to the table.

The  Lékué  microwave rice and grain cooker is a neat little cooker, a white microwaveable pot with a green silicon lid with holes in it to let the steam escape. Since it has a unique lid water doesn't overflow and the microwave stays clean. The rice and grain cooker can be used to cook a wide variety of other grains such as couscous, wheat, barley, oats and buckwheat . It is dishwasher safe and made from plastic and 100% platinum silicone. The Lékué microwave rice cooker retails at  £ 27.50 and is available to purchase from many high street retailers and also on line from Lékué.

I have been very fortunate and have had the opportunity to try out some wonderful  products from the Lékué range of kitchen ware such  the microwave kit pasta the pasta cooker, which  is elegant in design and you can cook and serve the pasta straight from the microwave to the table.

I also tried the cutting board which is neat and very handy  and is very durable since its  made from pp plastic and trp rubber. The cutting board stores easily in any kitchen drawer and is double sided.

Finally one of my favourite items that I have tried is the kit decomat. This is a lovely kit perfect for those cake decorating fans. It comes with laminated design templates and a special chocolate piping pot that allows you to trace the patterns with the chocolate to make beautiful chocolate decorations.

I would like to thank Lékué  for sending me all these wonderful items to review.All the opinions and views expressed in this post are my own.

Lékué have been very kind and they have agreed to send one lucky simplyfood reader a microwave rice and grain cooker as a prize so that they can cook perfect rice every time.

How To Enter:

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• Answering the mandatory question will open additional optional entries.
• Please read the rules they form the terms and conditions of this
• Open to UK Residents Only and you must be over 18 yrs old.
• Closing date - 5th May 2014

How Rafflecopter works:

• You will need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment. You can do this by clicking on leave a comment at the bottom of the post and leaving your reply in the comment box. Please note your comment will not show immediately as it needs to be moderated however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of entries.
• Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.
•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.
• For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here. 
• For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 
• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Submitting to:
Lets cook sweet treats for Easter event by simply.food

Taste of Tropics ~ Dates Event by Chef Mireille guest hosted by citrusspice