Aam'er Payesh ( Mango Kheer )

The payesh or kheer is every Indian mother's expression of unadulterated love for her children . I have seen both my mom and MIL , diligently make this sweet musing on every birthday or landmark celebration of their respective babies . The best part is , even as we grew up and moved out of our nests into the greater world , this act of salient human expression did not stop existing . Also , my grand mother ( who later passed it onto my mother ) came from the school of thought that said that one's own child's achievement was never to be publicized verbatim by the mother , lest it look over pompous . Hence , in all sobriety , it was maintained in our household that - the child's achievement is what should speak for itself - maybe aided with some payesh ! Thus , as a tradition , all our special achievements and occasions were christened with the simple making of the payesh , which was then passed around to all well wishers in order to seek blessings and future well being .

Even though , i don't have any fledglings yet , i do not miss any opportunity to make this pot of creamy goodness , as it brings back so many wonderful memories and family values to me. I read somewhere that there are 26 types of payesh in Bengal itself and for one moment maybe , I leave alone the number of the variants , before I get onto adding all the great kheer's of northern India and the array of payasam's from the south to the list . Aam'er Payesh or Mango Kheer is one of my most favorite variation's and thus , it got made in the hungry boy kitchen today . Also , celebrating the closing of the beautiful mango season 2020 graced us with .

Aamer Payesh is a milk & rice based pudding - made fragrant with mango pulp - the juicy ripe mango flesh is puree'd without any water and added to the thickened rice pudding for a distinct flavor !

Things you will need :

• 1 litre of whole milk

• 02 tbsp of gobindo bhog rice - soaked in cold water for 15- 20 minutes ( If you do not have gobindo bhog , you can use any other small grain rice )

• 02 tbsp of sugar

• 01 cup of sweet mango pulp

• 01 Bay leaf

Steps to follow :

• Take a large pan and add the milk along with the bay leaf - keep stirring the same in low flame to thicken for 15- 20 mins

• Add the soaked rice into the pan and boil the rice along with the milk. When the rice is cooked enough , add the sugar and boil for another 10 -15 minutes or till the pudding becomes thick and creamy.

• Now let the payesh cool completely to room temperature - this step is very important , as if you add the mango pulp to the warm milk , it will split and spoil the consistency .

• Once completely cool , add the mango pulp and mix well.

• Refrigerate this for 3-4 hours before serving - Enjoy !