Festivals are all about gatherings, eating great food and celebrating. The most important dish during these festivals is desserts, especially kheer. Every auspicious occasion in India is celebrated with our mothers or grandmothers cooking a potful of kheer. Kheer can be made using many ingredients like rice, semolina (sooji) or sewai (vermicelli). But, did you know you can make paneer kheer?
Well, with the festival season around the corner, we all will find ourselves looking for dessert recipes. So, here’s one healthy dessert recipe that everyone in your family will love.
Here’s what you need to make paneer kheer (for 1 medium bowl):
– Low-fat milk – 2 cups or 700 ml
– Paneer – 50-75 gms
– Sugar substitute – 2-3 tsp. You can add sugar too. Just make sure the amount is healthy: 1-2 tsp
– Finely chopped dry fruits like almond, cashew, pistachios (unsalted) – 8 pcs of each
– Saffron strands – 3-4
– Rosewater or rose essence – 1 tsp or 1 drop
– Cardamom powder – 2 pinches
How to prepare:
1. In a wide-bottomed pan, heat the milk on a low-to-medium flame.
2. Whilst the milk comes to a boil, crumble the paneer and keep aside.
3. Crush the cardamoms into fine powder and chop the dry fruits and keep aside.
4. When the milk comes to a boil, lower the flame and cook for about 5-6 mins until the milk thickens a bit. Keep stirring the milk at intervals when it is simmering.
5. Add sugar substitute or sugar and cook for 5 more minutes.
6. Stir and add chopped dry fruits, cardamom powder and saffron. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Add paneer on a low flame and cook the paneer well.
8. Add rose water & stir.
9. Garnish with saffron strands, dry fruits and rose water. Serve hot, warm or chilled.
Nutrition Facts:
– Energy: 300 calories (+ 10 cals if used sugar)
– Protein: 10 gm
– Carbohydrates – 30gm (+ 2.5 gm carbs if used sugar)
– Fat – 10 gm
– Fiber – 1 gm
Consult our team of expert dieticians to get personalized diet plans as per your needs.
Benefits of paneer kheer recipe:
1. Among the different types of milk, including skimmed and whole, the main difference is in the amount of fat present in the milk. While skim milk has negligible amounts of fat, the amounts of harmful saturated fats that can cause a spike in cholesterol levels increase stepwise with 1%, 2% or whole milk. Using low-fat milk in your day-to-day life can help reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke and lower cholesterol levels. In fact, adults drinking 2-3 cups of milk daily could lose around 5 kg in a year just by switching from 2% reduced-fat milk to skim milk [1].
To take care of your heart, even little changes can help. Take a step towards a healthy heart.
2. Lactose-intolerant people can opt for soy milk or almond milk. When choosing your alternative, look for protein, calcium, fat content and if the product has any added sugars. However, soy milk is often considered a more nutrient-dense option than almond milk as it has limited protein content [2]. Whereas, using almond milk provides a better taste and consistency.
3. Saffron has been seen to be effective in the treatment of hypertension, stomach disorders, coronary artery diseases, dysmenorrhea and learning or memory impairments. This golden spice has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which help it mitigate several digestive system problems and chronic diseases.[3]
Even though desserts are the favorite part of the meal for most of us, we refrain from satisfying our urge to eat some because of the effects that the dessert would have on our health. Whether you are diabetic or are just taking care to maintain a healthy weight, you can devour this dessert without compromising your health.
Remember to replace the sugar with a sugar substitute to make the most of this recipe. This festival season, greet your guests with this healthy dessert.
(The article is reviewed by Dr. Swati Mishra, Medical Editor)
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References:
1. Low-Fat Milk: A Healthy Choice Healthy Choice for Your Family. https://wicworks.fns.usda.gov/wicworks/Sharing_Center/ND/Milk.pdf
2. Mayo Clinic Q and A: Dairy milk, soy milk, almond milk — which is the healthiest choice for you? Mayo Clinic. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-dairy-milk-soy-milk-almond-milk-which-is-the-healthiest-choice-for-you/
3. Hassan Ashktorab, Akbar Soleimani, Gulshan Singh, et al. Saffron: The Golden Spice with Therapeutic Properties on Digestive Diseases. Nutrients. 2019 May; 11(5): 943. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6567082/