Kheer — milk reduced slowly with rice (or with Mithila’s own makhana) and sweetened with sugar, cardamom and nuts — is the celebration pudding of the Maithil home, made for festivals, fasts and feasts alike. The makhana version is a regional signature, lightly roasted fox-nuts swelling soft in the creamy milk.
A simple method: roast makhana (or wash rice); simmer in milk until it thickens; sweeten and scent with cardamom and saffron; finish with roasted almonds, cashews and raisins. Served warm or chilled, it is comfort and ceremony in a bowl.