Kheer at Bollywood Grill

1038 N. Jackson St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I've eaten many, many times at Bollywood Grill's Indian lunch buffet, and it's a good one. Among their desserts they always have kheer—the problem is, they also always have another interesting dessert, like a fruit custard, and they always have mango ice cream—so, following a buffet in which it's impossible to not eat at least ten items, no mater how small you're buffeting your portions, it's hard to get out of the place without feeling like you need to go lie on the couch and fall asleep to the Detroit Lions. I'd be better off with no dessert, but it's hard to resist that mango ice cream, so there are times when I actually skipped the kheer—so I made a point to concentrate on it, last visit. I'm not sure if the preparation doesn't sometimes vary (as it may well, with a kitchen this size, and this busy) but it's consistently excellent, not too sweet, a fairly runny consistency, and with a very subtle and complex flavor that makes me want to keep taking bites to try to figure it out. There's a small amount of raisins and some kind of nut, not dominating—nothing dominates. Most definitely some cardamom. I'd like to know the preparation, and who knows, they may or may not share that info, but I also like not to know—I like mystery, and guessing—and also, I like the idea that I have a reason to keep returning to this excellent portrayal of kheer—maybe my favorite version of rice pudding—though is this one my favorite kheer? I have a lot of work to do.