This chocolate and mandarin kheer recipe from Vineet Bhatia is a twist on an Indian rice pudding. The big difference is that Vineet has mixed it up so that this Indian dessert it is full of remarkable flavours and textures that work brilliantly.
Pour the full-fat milk into a heavy-based pan, add the drained rice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until a grain of rice breaks easily when pressed gently between your fingers
500ml of full-fat milk
3
By now, most of the milk should have been absorbed and the mixture will be quite thick
4
Over a low heat, reduce the mandarin juice to half the volume
Stir the sugar into the rice over a gentle heat, then pour in the reduced mandarin juice, stir and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cardamom. Leave to cool and then chill. Lastly add the mandarin segments and set aside until needed
For the dark chocolate rabdi, scatter the hazelnuts onto a baking tray and bake in a medium oven for 3-5 minutes or until starting to turn brown and crisp. Crush them in a bag with a rolling pin
Put the milk and cream in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has reduced to a third of its original volume
325ml of full-fat milk
100ml of single cream
8
Remove from the heat, stir in the dark chocolate, cocoa powder and crushed hazelnuts, leave to cool. Chill thoroughly
To serve, pour the chilled mandarin rice kheer into in a martini glass until 3/4 full. Pour over a thin layer of dark chocolate rabdi and garnish with an orange slice
While Vineet Bhatia has borrowed from European traditions to plate up his food, the manner and matter of his dishes are unmistakably those of India, handled with immense sophistication and personal panache.
