Firni

Firni is an Indian milk pudding made of ground rice. Served mainly after Biryani, this milk pudding is famous for its rich creamy texture, which comes from the ground rice and almond paste. For making the firni, good quality aromatic rice is a must because apart from the green cardamoms, that is the sole supplier of the taste and flavour to firni. Lots of people use good quality Basmati for making firni...but you can any premium quality rice.

For making firni, I have used Gobindobhog Rice, which is a typical flavourful short grain rice from Bengal, and we mainly use Gobindobhog rice for making Kheer / Payesh. Using almond flour is an option and you can skip this step totally. I got this idea from a cooking show and this almond flour really enhances the flavour to the next stage. Even the quality of milk is vital for making firni as well. By rule or recipe...you can use any kind of milk. But I highly recommend using good quality whole milk, or otherwise it’s very hard to get that desired creamy texture.

Ground the soaked rice to a coarse powder.

Ground the cashew buts and almonds until they turn into powder. 

The nuts should be of this texture. Do not grind too mush or else they will start to release oil.

In a bowl take the ground rice, ground nuts and some milk.

Mix to make a paste.

Simmer the milk until it is reduced to half of its quantity. Add the saffron strands.

Add the green cardamom powder and ghee.

Add the ground rice and ground nut paste. Stir continuously and cook until the rice is almost cooked.

Add the sugar and mix them well.

Simmer until the rice is cooked and the consistency of the firni reaches a thick and creamy consistency.

Firni

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 litres of whole milk

¼ cup of gobindobhog / basmati rice

A handful of cashew nuts

A handful of peeled almonds

3 green cardamoms

1 tbsp pure desi ghee

¼ cup or more sugar

10-12 saffron strands

Method:

Dry roast the green cardamom for some seconds and then peel of their skin. Take the seeds and grind them using a mortar and pestle. Keep aside.

Wash and soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes grind the rice in a grinder to a fine coarse powder. It should not be too fine. Transfer this coarse rice to a bowl. In the same grinder put the cashew and almonds and grind them to a fine powder. Transfer them to the same bowl along with the rice. Add ¼ cup of the whole milk and mix them well. Keep aside.

Pour the rest of the milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan and put it on low simmer.

Stir the milk often and scrap the sides and the bottom of the pan.

Simmer on low for 30-45 minutes, or until the milk is reduced to the half of its previous quantity.

Add the ghee, saffron and the green cardamom powder.

Add the ground rice and nuts paste to the reduced milk and stir to mix.

Stir this mixture on a continuous basis, as the rice and nuts paste can stick to the bottom of the pan very easily. Scrap the bottom and the sides of the pan as well.

Stir and cook on low flame in this way until the rice is almost cooked.

Add the sugar as per taste and stir to mix.

After the addition of sugar the firni will lose the consistency a little.

Continue simmering and stirring until the rice is cooked.

Taste and adjust the sweetness.

Switch off the flame and put the firni into individual clay pots / bhanr.

Cover them with a foil to avoid the formation of the thick skin on top of the firni.

Let them cool down to room temperature and pop them inside the fridge for a good 4-6 hours.

Serve chilled with chopped pistachios, almonds and saffron on top of them.