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{{Short description|Sweet pudding dish from Indian subcontinent}}
{{distinguish|Kheer (Bengali sweets)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2024}} 
{{Infobox food
| name               = Kheer
| image              = Kheer.jpg
| image_size         = 300px
| caption            = A bowl of kheer
| alternate_name     = ksheeram, doodhpak, meetha bhat (sometimes misunderstood as mayasam)
| country            = Ancient India
| region             = 
| creator            = 
| course             = Dessert
| served             = 
| main_ingredient    = Rice, milk, sugar, [[cardamom]], [[jaggery]], [[saffron]], [[pistachio]]s or [[almond]]s
| variations         = [[Vermicelli]] (semiya) kheer, [[Barley]] kheer, kaddu ki kheer, paal (milk), [[payasam]], payesh, chhanar payesh (payesh made with chhana or paneer)
| calories           = 249
| other              = 
| type               = Pudding
}}

'''Kheer''', '''khir''' or '''payasam''' is a [[pudding]] or [[porridge]] popular in the [[Indian subcontinent]], usually made by boiling [[milk]], [[sugar]] or [[jaggery]], and [[rice]]. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, [[cardamom]] and [[saffron]]. Instead of rice, it may contain [[cracked wheat]], vermicelli ([[sevai]]), [[sago]] or [[Tapioca#Tapioca pearls|tapioca]] (sabudana).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Best rated puddings in the world |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-puddings-in-the-world |access-date= |website=www.tasteatlas.com}}</ref>

In Northern India, it is made in various ways. The most popular versions are the ones made with rice and [[vermicelli]] (semiya). <ref name=":0" />

==Etymology==
The word ''kheer'' is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word ''[[kshira]]'' (क्षीर), which means [[milk]] or a milk-based dish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monier-Williams |first=Sir Monier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzRDAQAAMAAJ&dq=Kshira+milk&pg=PA268 |title=A Sanskṛit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged: With Special Reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and Other Cognate Indo-European Languages |date=1872 |publisher=Clarendon Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kheer: An Essential Dish {{!}} Civilization of India |url=https://people.smu.edu/hist2390/2020/06/29/kheer-an-essential-dish/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=people.smu.edu}}</ref> Kheer is also the archaic name for sweet [[rice pudding]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-12-20 |title=DS group enters dairy market, with 'ksheer' - Hindustan Times |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/ds-group-enters-dairy-market-with-ksheer/article1-1112050.aspx |access-date=2024-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220090554/http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/ds-group-enters-dairy-market-with-ksheer/article1-1112050.aspx |archive-date=20 December 2013 }}</ref> 

The word ''payasam'' used in [[South India]] for kheer originates from the [[Sanskrit]] term ''pāyasa'' (पायस), which means "milk" or a dish made from milk. This term evolved into various regional languages, including [[Malayalam]] (പായസം, pāyasaṁ), [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (పాయసం, pāyasaṁ), and [[Tamil Nadu|Tamil]] (பாயசம், pāyacam).<ref>{{Cite web |title=payasam |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/payasam_n?tl=true#:~:text=Where%20does%20the%20noun%20payasam%20come%20from?&text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,:%20Tamil%20p%C4%81yasam;%20Sanskrit%20p%C4%81yasa. |website=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>

==Origin==

It is said to have originated initially in South India thousands of years ago. The story is titled "The Legend of Chessboard" in [[Kerala]], an old sage in the form of Krishna challenged the king of Ambalapuzha (chess enthusiasts) to play chess. To motivate the sage, the king offered anything that the sage would name. The sage modestly asked just for a few grains of rice but under one condition: the king has to put a single grain of rice on the first chess square and double it on every subsequent one.

[[Krishna|Lord Krishna]] (the sage) won the game and the king started placing the grains. As he stacked them, he was shocked to see the number grow exponentially. In the end, the number came up to trillions. Krishna reveals himself and asks the king to provide kheer to every pilgrim who comes to his temple there. The [[Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Swamy Temple|Ambalapuzha Krishna]] temple still follows this and it is located in Kerala's Alappuzha district.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2020 |title=History of Indian Food |url=http://www.haldiramusa.com/History_Indian_Food.htm |access-date=25 April 2024 |website=Haldiram USA}}</ref>

According to the food historian [[K. T. Achaya]], kheer or ''payasam'', as it is known in southern India, was a popular dish in [[ancient India]]. First mentioned in ancient Indian literature, it was a mixture of rice, milk and sugar, a formula that has endured for over two thousand years. ''Payasam'' was also a staple [[Hindu]] temple food, in particular, and it is served as ''[[Prasāda]]'' to devotees in [[Temple|temples]].<ref name="ht">{{Cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/a-truly-international-dessert/story-kfaP9BbuLcuyvCr5A03VGL.html|title=A truly international dessert|date=3 October 2009|work=Hindustan Times}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Mixed Dry Fruit Kheer - Home - Chandigarh - India - 00011.jpg|Kheer topped with dried fruits and nuts
File:Rice pudding also called payasam or kheer.jpg|Kheer
File:Paal payasam.JPG|Paal payasam
File:Milk kheer.jpg|Kheer with vermicelli (called seviyan kheer, semiya payasam or [[shemai]])
File:Semiya Payasam Vermicelli Kheer.jpg|Vermicelli kheer
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Porridge]]
* [[Phirni]] – a dessert made with ground rice or rice flour cooked in milk and eaten chilled
* [[Shir Berenj]] – Persian rice pudding
* [[Doodhpak]] – Gujarati rice pudding
* [[Shemai]] – Bengali vermicelli pudding
* [[Sheer khurma]] – Persian vermicelli pudding

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Rice pudding]]
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