My favorite dessert as a kid was kheer. On Sundays, when my parents would take me to Gurudawara (place of worship), I would hope that they would serve kheer during Langar (vegetarian meal served after prayer). Not the rice kheer, but the seviyan kheer, the one made with with vermicelli noodles. Oh, I just loved it.
A lot of people compare kheer to rice pudding, but I think they’re totally different. Kheer is so much better. The ghee and the cardamom give kheer a completely different flavor.
Now that I no longer eat dairy or gluten, I decided to attempt a Paleo Kheer using spaghetti squash strands in place of vermicelli and coconut milk in place of regular milk. It was so good – truly. Rob can vouch for me. He ate a big bowl of it and when he was done, I told him there was spaghetti squash in his dessert. He was shocked.
Sometimes, I wonder if going paleo has made my tastebuds different from the rest of the world, which is why I’m glad I have my non-paleo hubby to taste test for me. While it’d be great if he ate paleo all the time for his health, at least he’s useful in this way (just kidding, babe!).
So, he liked it. He liked it a lot, which makes me think that you’ll like it too – whether or not you’re into paleo.
Spaghetti Squash Kheer (Indian Dessert)
Spaghetti Squash Kheer (Indian Dessert)
Ingredients
- 2 cans Organic Coconut Milk full fat
- 3 cups of spaghetti squash strands
- 1 tablespoon Grassfed Organic Ghee or coconut oil
- 1 + tsp freshly ground cardamom seeds remove pod, just use seeds, adjust to taste
- 2-3 + tbs Raw Honey adjust to taste (I think raisins add sweetness, but the hubby likes it SWEET)
- Golden raisins
- Sliced almonds
Instructions
- Prepare spaghetti squash using the oven method (below) to achieve “noodles”.
- Heat ghee in pan and stir-fry the dry spaghetti squash strands. Then, stir-fry nuts and raisins.
- In another saucepan, add coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly, add honey, ground cardamom and stir.
- After about 10-15 minutes, once the milk has thickened a bit, add the ghee-coated spaghetti strands. Stir for a few more minutes, garnish with ghee-coated nuts and raisins and then serve.
To prepare squash using the oven method:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and brush on some ghee to the cut sides.
- Place squash cut side down in a baking dish.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until you can easily pierce the skin with a knife (cooking time depends on size of squash).
Jasmin says
Thank you for this recipe!! It tastes amazing, I can have Kheer again!
My Heart Beets says
Jasmin, I’m so glad! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Whitney Lemons says
This is delicious! Thank you!
Just an FYI for anyone keeping their sugars low, I used swerve and replaced the raisins with more almond slices.
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Whitney! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
W. Rauf says
I have been switching up my favorite Pakistani/Indian recipes for Paleo/Whole30 for quite a while now, but I never thought about kheer. This is great, looking forward to trying it out this weekend.
My Heart Beets says
Awesome! Can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
Priya says
You supposedly don’t eat dairy but you use ghee? Yeah…that totally makes sense…
My Heart Beets says
Hi Priya! I eat dairy and I also eat ghee 🙂 Back when I did not eat dairy, I was still able to eat ghee because there is little to no lactose in ghee. If you search on the internet you will see that a lot of people with dairy issues can actually still tolerate ghee. You can always use another fat if you’d like!
Johanna says
I made half the recipe and had it for breakfast this morning. OMG….it was delicious!. I have lots of squash left over, so will use it up making another batch. And Ican’t wait to make it for my granddaughter when she comes to visit next month, since she cannot eat dairy or grains. I did put the spaghetti squash with some coconut milk into the blender and gave it a couple of whirls, just enough to cut the strands down a bit. Very rice pudding-y. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I would never thought to use spaghetti squash this way.
My Heart Beets says
That is so great to hear! I hope your granddaughter loves it too! 🙂
Nutty Abs @ Eat Your Nuts says
“…I wonder if going paleo has made my tastebuds different from the rest of the world…”
My thoughts exactly, whenever I cook for non-Paleos. My tastebuds aren’t used to being overloaded with sugar so I feel like I detect natural sugar more intensely, if that makes sense. Fruit tastes wayy sweeter to me now than it did before I went Paleo.
Awesome looking recipe. I’m in the process of making some cauliflower rice pudding, but will definitely have to make this next!
My Heart Beets says
Yes!! Fruit is 100 percent nature’s candy – so, so good! Hope you love the recipe! <3
albanyeye says
wonder if almond milk would work…I should try it both ways.
Looks amazing.
Layla says
OMG! My favorite dessert ever!! If I don’t want to use honey, what can I substitute for it? I’m doing whole 30 and don’t want to cheat on the honey. Is there a way to blend up dates to add as a sweetener?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Layla! I think using a date puree would taste fine with this 🙂
sasha says
Wow! Incredible recipe. I just want to know where i can buy this in india or the indian name for Sphagetti Squash?
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Sasha! I don’t believe there is another name for spaghetti squash. If you can’t find this squash in India, then try using something like this vegetable spiral slicer to make “noodles” from another vegetable.
Rawria says
Thank you for posting this! Can’t wait to try this 😀
My Heart Beets says
Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Jeanette says
I’m making this this evening. Do you prefer to serve it warm or cold?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Jeanette – sorry for the late reply. I prefer this dish warm or at room temp – with hot/warm plump raisins and almond slices. what did you think?
Jeanette says
I didn’t end up trying it. Hopefully today! I have coconut milk in a box. What size of canned coconut milk you use? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
I use two 13 oz cans of full fat coconut milk but if that sounds like it might be too much for you then just halve the recipe 🙂 Make sure to top it off with the ghee-coated raisins and sliced nuts. It’s so good!
Erica says
OMG, pretty sure you’re a genius!! Found this recipe via Chowstalker, I love kheer and I bet it tastes even better with spaghetti squash! I love your paleo Indian recipes, I’m crazy about Indian food but at restaurants it’s too much bread/rice/legumes so I have to make it at home.
My Heart Beets says
Hahah thank you, Erica! That’s really sweet of you to say. I’m glad you’re a kheer/Indian food fan! I see you have a blog – I’m actually browsing through it now. Your ethiopian curry looks fantastic and so does that pumpkin french toast… YUM. I can’t wait to try some of your recipes!! 🙂