Method
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot and add the rice. Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer about 20 min. until the rice is nearly done. Add the milk, raise the heat to medium, and cook uncovered for 1 hour, stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. At the end of an hour, the rice and milk will have thickened and the volume will be reduced by about one third. Now add the honey or sugar, butter, raisins, crushed cardamon seeds and optional saffron. Stir continuously for 5 min. to mix thoroughly. Taste and add more sugar if you feel that it sould be sweeter. Cook and stir for another 15 min. Remove the pot from the heat and transfer the kheer into a serving dish. Top with chopped pistachio nuts and cool in the refrigerator.