Phirni

 

I tasted this awesome sweet dish in Libya in late 1980s when we went to a friend’s house on Eid. I just loved it, took the recipe from her, and it is a common item at home. This is prepared with rice, sugar and milk, just like the rice kheer is prepared. But phirni is made with broken rice, it is always served cold after refrigeration, and fried cashewnuts and kismis are not added.

Ingredients

Rice can be washed, dried, ground roughly and stored in air tight bottles to prepare phirni any time.

3 heaped tbsps of broken rice

6 cups milk

1 cup sugar

A few strands of saffron soaked in water

¼ tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of edible camphor (optional)

¼ tsp nutmeg powder (optional)

Instruction

-          Add ½ cup milk to the broken rice in a bowl and keep aside.

-          Bring the remaining milk to boil. When it boils, add the rice milk mixture to this and mix well.

-          Reduce the flame and keep stirring in between till the rice is cooked and it thickens, which takes about 15 minutes.

-          Now add sugar, mix well, keep on low ire, stirring in between till it thickens again ( another 10 minutes).

-          Add the cardamom powder, saffron, edible camphor, and nutmeg powder. Stir well and remove from fire.

-          Let it cool, then refrigerate and serve.