Kheer
rice dish
Kheer, khir, payesh, fenni, or payasam is a pudding or porridge (specifically rice pudding) popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, it may contain cracked wheat, vermicelli (sevai), sago, or tapioca (sabudana).
In Northern India, it is made in various ways. The most common versions are the ones made with rice and vermicelli (semiya). In Nepal, kheer tends to be thicker and uses fewer ingredients.
Etymology
The word kheer is derived from the Sanskrit word kshira (क्षीर), which means milk or a "milk-based dish". Kheer is also the archaic name for sweet rice pudding.
The word payasam used in South India for kheer originates from the Sanskrit term pāyasa (पायस), which means "milk" or a dish made from milk. This term evolved into various regional languages, including Malayalam (പായസം, pāyasaṁ), Telugu (పాయసం, pāyasaṁ), Kannada (ಪಾಯಸ, pāyasa), and Tamil (பாயசம், pāyacam).
The public source identifies “Kheer” as rice dish. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Kheer, rice and dish.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Kheer”, the useful work is to connect “rice dish” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q59134. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kheer”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kheer primary sources, Kheer archive and Kheer research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kheer”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kheer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.