Phirni/Firni | Rice Pudding | Easy Indian Dessert

Festive season has arrived and so has that constant craving for sweets. Preparing most Indian sweets at home can be quite hectic and it also uses up large quantities of ingredients. This is why Phirni is one of my go to desserts. It’s easy to prepare, doesn’t require tedious cooking and makes perfect individual portions.

For this particular recipe, I’ve added fresh homemade khoya/reduced milk to give it a rich texture and flavor. It’s a simple, no frill recipe and can be prepared in a jiffy.

This is what you’ll need:-

Phirni

• Servings: 7
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25-30 mins
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• Milk – 1 litre
• Rice Flour** – 1/3 cup
• Khoya/ Reduced Milk (optional) – 2-3 tbsp
• Sugar – 2/3 cup
• Kewra Water – 2 tsp
• Rose Water – 1 tsp
• Fresh Cardamom/Elaichi Powder – 1 tsp
• A handful of Sliced Roasted Almonds and pistachios

Directions

1. Heat milk in a pan. Leave ½ a cup aside.
2. Add rice flour to the milk kept aside and mix well. This is to avoid lumps in the pan.
3. Add the rice flour mix in the pan and stir well.
4. Continue to stir on a medium-low flame till the mixture begins to thicken. It is important to stir constantly so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add khoya/reduced milk and give it a mix.
6. Next, add in your sugar, kewra water and rose water. Mix well. You can also add nuts and cardamom powder at this point. I only put them on top, because I wanted to keep the texture smooth.
7. After the sugar has combined well, give it a quick taste, make adjustments if needed. Take it off the pan and place them in individual bowls to set.

8. Garnish with sliced pistachios, roasted almonds and cardamom powder.
9. Place the bowls in the refrigerator after it’s cooled down.
10. Serve Chilled.

To make rice flour** – Take 1 cup basmati rice and wash it 3-4 times or until the water is clear. Drain the water, spread the rice on a plate and cover it with a clean muslin cloth or even a sieve will do. Leave it out to dry overnight or place it under the fan if possible. Next, add the dried-up rice in the mixer grinder and blitz till it forms a fine powder. Feel free to use store bought rice flour. I enjoy the process of creating ingredients from scratch. If you like to do the same too, go ahead. The end result will leave you smiling.

Enjoy 🙂