Wow! This year’s Diwali celebration has seen quite a good food recipes at The White Ramekins kitchen and we are under food comma. Why shouldn’t that be! After all, it’s the festival time and food has to be one of the main themes of any festival. We made Balushashi, lime and paprika roasted nuts besides these rich and delicious Saffron & Rose Phirni. These were last of the dessert we made this Diwali. But these were to die for because they’ve already been polished off. We served them in terracotta bowls which made them look even more festive and traditional. Phirni is a variation of Indian rice pudding which has got coarsely grounded rice instead of whole rice grains. This makes it a bit more velvety and smooth. The mild notes of saffron and rose take this deliciousness to the next level. The good thing is that it doesn’t take much time. So, if you are still thinking of making some last minute dessert and don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, this is your bet. Happy Diwali and happy cooking!
- 1 litre whole milk
- 1/3 cup basmati rice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped blanched almonds plus extra for garnish
- 1 good pinch of saffron
- 1/4 tsp rose extract
- silver leaves for garnish
- rose petals for garnish
- Soak the rice for about 30 minutes. Drain and let dry on paper towel for about 30 minutes. Grind the rice to a coarse meal.
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the milk, chopped almonds and saffron and bring to boil. Simmer it on very low flame for about 30 minutes, until it reduces to 3/4th of it. Keep stirring in between.
- Add the sugar and stir to mix. Add the ground rice and whisk well, so that there are no lumps. Let simmer for another 15 minutes until it becomes thick. Keep stirring in between.
- Pour the cooked phirni to terracotta bowls. Cover with cling wrap and let chill in the fridge. Garnish with chopped almonds, silver leaves and rose petals before serving.