Kesar Phirni

I am not a great fan of sweets, specially the Indian sweets, most of which are way too sweet for my taste. My Husband on the other hand loves sweets .He recently had Kesar Phirni and was raving about it. The little girl shares daddy’s sweet love.

Phirni has been on my to-do list for ages. I found a recipe for ‘Strawberry Phirni’ in Sanjeev Kapoor’s cute booklet ‘Sunday Specials’ . I did not have strawberries at home and so I chose the royal ‘Kesar/Saffrom’ for flavor.

The recipe is very easy and quick (except for the refrigeration time). The only change I would like to make next time is either use a little more rice or use some evaporated milk (milkmaid) while cooking the Phirni. After 5-6 hours of refrigeration the Phirni was still on the ‘runny’ side. I was expecting a pudding like thicker consistency. The taste was fabulous all the same.

I would recommend making it previous night chill and have it next day. Tastes much better.

Here’s the recipe for Kesar Phirni (original recipe: Strawberry Phirni by Sanjeev Kapoor in Sunday Specials )

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Rice (I used Basmati)

1 Litre milk

¾ cup Sugar

6-8 Almonds (I used readymade Almond flakes)

8-10 Pistachios

Few strands of Kesar/ Saffron

Method

Clean wash and soak the rice in sufficient water for ½ hour.

Drain and grind the rice to a coarse paste. Add ½ cup water to the paste.

Soak Pistachios (and almonds too if using whole) in hot water for 5 mins ; drain, peel and slice finely.

Warm the Kesar/Saffron strands and lightly crush in a small mortar-pestle.

Heat the milk and bring it to a boil.

Stir in the rice paste, lower the heat and cook for 5-6 minutes until the milk thickens, stirring continuously.

Add the sugar and saffron and continue to cook till the sugar dissolves.

Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.

Pour the mixture into earthenware/ ceramic bowls.

Garnish with Pistachios, Almonds, few strands of Kesar.

Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours and serve.