Dates And Oats Indian Milk Pudding/Kheer

• 1/2 cup Rolled oats
• 1/4 cup Jaggery (unrefined cane sugar)/sugar
• 2 cups Milk
• 10 Dates
• 1/2 teaspoon Cardamom powder
• 10 Almonds for blending
• 10 Almonds for garnishing
• 1 teaspoon Ghee/Clarified butter

1. Soak whole almonds in hot water for about 15 to 20 minutes or give one boil to the water and let the almonds steep in it for about 15 minutes.rnAfter 15 minutes, peel the almonds. Chop about half of them (around 10).
2. Deseed dates and keep about 4 to 5 for garnishing.rnPlace the rest of the peeled almonds (about 10) and 5 to 6 pitted dates in a blender jar and make a fine paste with a little milk.
3. In a saucepan, roast the oats on medium high heat, stirring continuously till you get a nutty aroma; about 2 to 3 minutes.rnTip in the milk and the ground almonds-date paste (rinse the jar with additional milk) into the pan and bring to a boil on medium high heat.
4. When the jaggery has completely melted into the pudding/kheer, add the cardamom powder, stir and remove from heat.rnIn a small saucepan, heat ghee and roast the chopped almonds till light golden brown. Stir into the cooked pudding/kheer.
5. Serve delectable dates and oats kheer piping hot, warm or cold with additional nuts and chopped dates sprinkled on top.rnKheer thickens as it cools, so feel free to add more milk when needed.
6. Instead of oats, you can use rice or broken wheat/bulgur instead. Rice will need more time to cook.rnFeel free to add any variety of nuts in this pudding.
7. If you do not have jaggery, use brown sugar or plain sugar.rnFor a vegan option, use coconut milk instead.

rolled oats, jaggery, milk, dates, cardamom powder, blending, garnishing, butter

Taken from food52.com/recipes/68139-dates-and-oats-indian-milk-pudding-kheer (may not work)