Let me introduce a very delicate and extremely elevating dessert that’s unique to Odisha and West Bengal. Its Khira Gaintha or Kheer Puli. Agreed, this is not a thandai infused holi dessert, but it’s also a festive dessert, which is made during festivals. This consists of balls of rice four dough soaked in reduced cardamom flavored milk. The rice flour is cooked with water and then kneaded to form a dough, moulded into balls, and dropped into simmering milk cream. Something like Ras Malai but instead of Chhena or Paneer balls, riceflour balls are being used in this case.
Serve Khira Gaintha on its own as a delicious dessert after your satisfying meal.
I was talking to my mom over the phone last week and as always, she was scolding me about how little I eat and how thin I’m becoming day by day (sure, ma!). And yes, like every other kid, I was pretending to listen to her but I was not really. Then she said something about how she used to make special stuff for me when I was a kid because I used to be a really fussy eater. That I was. So I remember, she used to make this delicious melt-in-your-mouth dessert for me, which were not overtly sweet and a very delicate dessert. Don’t ask me the name because I’m sure even in Odisha itself they call it differently in different parts (I know, right!!). But what my ma calls it is – Khira Gaintha. Khira as in Milk and Gaintha as in small balls. So in other words, these are Milky Balls.
There is something fascinating about food and culture. Every country, every region has its own specific cultural flavor. There is novelty and differences for sure, yet, if you dig a little more, you will find striking similarities too. When I was researching more about this dish, I realized that its very similar in taste and preparation to Modak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modak(Maharashtra), Momos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momo_(dumpling)from northeast, kozhakataihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kozhukkatta from South. The ingredients and the preparation of these dishes are very similar. The only thing that separates them is what they are known as and yes, they could be sweet or savory.
Here are some other traditional Indian desserts.
Almond Rice Kheer,Almond Rice Pudding
Manda Pitha (Rice Dumplings with Coconut Filling)
So here is my mom’s recipe that I grew up on.
INGREDIENTS:
- Rice Flour 2 cups
- Water 4 Cups
- Sugar ¾ cup
- Evaporated Milk 1 cup
- Salt ¼ tsp
- Cardamom powder 1 Tbs
- Shredded Coconut 1/2 cup
- Milk 6 Cups
- Crushed Cashew and Almonds – ¼ cup

METHOD:
- If you don’t have Rice Flour handy, soak the rice in water for about 5 to 6 hours. Then wash and drain the water from rice and keep it aside. Grind the rice to a fine mixture
- Boil water in a deep pan. Add a tsp of oil and a tsp of salt to this. Now gradually and continuously add the rice flour to the water and keep stirring. Make sure there aren’t any lumps. Lower the flame, cover the pan with a lid and cook it for five minutes.
- Take this mixture and turn it on to a wide plate. Let it cool.
- Once it has cooled just enough knead it with your fingers so that it forms a ball.
Make small balls and steam them - In another deep pan boil the milk and evaporated milk. Simmer in low flame until milk thickens. Add the rest of the sugar, Cardamom powder and heat the milk some more.
- Now one by one drop the rice balls into the boiling milk and continue stirring.
- You can make a paste with 1 tbs of rice powder and add it to the milk to thicken it.
- Add the coconut in the end along with slivered cashew and almonds.
- Serve it cool.
If you like heirloom dishes, try my other traditional recipes:
Manda Pitha (Rice Dumplings with Coconut Filling)
PIN for Later:
Lovely post. The idea to revamp the old classics is brilliant. Keep it up.
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Beautiful shots.
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Click more.
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Beautiful, I remember my grandmother use to make a similiar dish when I was little. But we used coconut milk and the dumplings were made from regular flour… Milk dumplings, yummy.
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You remember the name of the dish?
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I love cashews and almonds which is what your recipe calls for so I’m certain that I would love this dish! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
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Looks delish!!
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What an interesting recipe – great idea thanks for sharing!
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I’m a southern girl and omg this looks so yummy and sounds so fancy . I’m totally that girl that would try this but I’m sure I would mess it up for whatever reason deserts and baking never have gone well for me lol im thinking it might be my impatience .
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I love trying out new recipes and new foods that I have never eaten before, this looks so great and delish!
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I love finding new recipes! I’ve never heard of this before, but it looks so interesting! ☺️
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I’ve never heard of rice dumplings. How yummy.
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When do I get an invite to the dinner table???? This looks delicious but why would expect anything less.
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It looks mesmerizing and I bet tastes great! Wonderful pictures!
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At first I thought you said Milky Rice Pudding hahaha, but Milky Rice balls they look good I never had them before.
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These looks really interesting! I am not sure if I could try them, I have a very finicky palate but my daughter would probably adore them!
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what a unique dumpling dessert
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Such a beautiful, delicate sounding dish! I love it – the flavours, how it looks, all of it!
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This sounds so comforting and a nice way to satisfy that sweet craving.
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Wow I’m intrigued by this unique dish! I would be afraid I would flub on a step but would be neat to try.
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I can’t wait to try this, it’s very interesting! What is it traditionally served with? Thank you!
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What an interesting looking dish. I have never had anything like this before. I love the pictures too.
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I don’t believe that I’ve ever heard of this before. Sounds interesting. Beautiful pictures.
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I’m so intrigued by this, I love trying new things. Pinning this to try later!
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omg can we say yum??? must give your recipe a try!!!
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I’m not much of a dumpling person, but I do love coconut! Definitely looks like an interesting recipe to try.
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I had these when I was at my mom’s native home!! They call it Kheer Puli. Now thanks to you I have the recipe. Any alternative to evaporated milk ?
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Lovely presentation. Yes! there is a thread of similairy that binds us and a world of difference in the different cuisines. This one is very similar to our Paal Kozhukattai. Lovely to know this.
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