Phirni

phirni recipe | Punjabi firni | rice phirni | shahi phirni |

phirni is a traditional Indian sweet made on occasions and festivals. Learn how to make shahi phirni.

Puja, festival or wedding, no occasion is ever complete without firni. Interestingly, this North Indian Punjabi dessert of rice cooked in sweetened milk is popular all over the country, known by different names such as phirni | firni | rice phirni | shahi phirni | and prepared with slight modifications. In the South, for instance, the same recipe is prepared with their varieties of raw, short-grained rice, and served hot at the start of a meal! Yet, there too, phirni is an indispensable part of festive menus.

Here, we show you hot to make authentic North Indian rice phirni, slow-cooked to get the perfect consistency and incredibly rich aroma. Exercise your creativity when it comes to garnishing this.

To make phirni, soak basmati rice in enough water for an hour. Drain it and blend in a mixer to a coarse paste without using any water. Keep it aside. Boil milk in a deep non-stick pan, add rice paste and cook for 15 minutes on slow flame and then 10 minutes on medium flame. Add sugar and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Switch off the flame, add the cardamom powder and mix well. Keep aside to cool completely. Once cooled, refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. Garnish with almond slivers and serve shahi phirni chilled.

While some stick to slivered nuts to garnish this shahi phirni, others like to garnish this traditional delicacy with dried or fresh fruits and even rose petals.

Tips for rice phirni. 1. Use a deep non-stick pan and not a broad pan. 2. Cook on slow flame and medium flame for the said time to get the perfect texture. 3. It is very important to use full fat milk to make phirni as that is want makes it thick and creamy. 4. Cooking the phirni is a bit tiring as we are using raw rice. Since we need to stir the phirni continuously I use a chair to sit and do it. Remember to scrape the side of the pan. 5. Add a little condensed milk if you want to reduce cooking time. And adjust the sugar accordingly.

Enjoy phirni recipe | Punjabi firni | rice phirni | shahi phirni with video given below.