The best mango phirni (rice pudding)

Phirni is an Indian rice pudding slow cooked with rice, milk, nuts, sugar and saffron. I made a summery version here with Mango which also happens to be my favorite version of phirni. Mango phirni or phirni in general is traditionally served in earthen dishes. The reason why I prefer phirni to a regular rice pudding is because the rice is ground in the former rather than being whole. Hence, once the pudding sets, it creates a thick, creamy texture as opposed to being runny in a regular rice pudding.

Mango phirni ready to be served
Yield6 servings
Prep time0 h15 mins
Cook time0 h 30 mins
Total time0 h45 mins

Ingredients to make mango phirni

1/4 cup rice (32g)
750 ml / 3 cups milk
1/4 heavy cream
cup sugar / jaggery 1/4 cup
1 cup mango pulp (128g)
1 tsp cardamom powder (5.7g)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp saffron

What rice should one use?

The ideal rice to use for a phirni is Basmati. It’s characteristic taste and fragrance are a big contributor to the taste of this rice pudding. So the Basmati is non-negotiable in this case.

The rice has to be washed well first to wash off the extra starch and clean the grains. Then transfer to paper towels and pat dry. Leave them to air dry for a few minutes before grinding them to a coarse powder. The powder should be too fine or the pudding will lose its texture, neither should the grains be too big.

Ideal grind for mango phirni

Directions to prepare mango phirni

Mix 2 tbsp milk with the ground rice and keep aside. This step is necessary to mix the rice and milk first before adding the dry powder to the boiling milk which could make lumps. Keep aside for now.

Next, add 2 tsp milk to the saffron and let the stands soak. After a few minutes, the color of the milk will change to yellow and then orange.

Boil the rest of the milk for 7-8 minutes on medium flame with constant stirring to prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom. Continue to boil until you see bubble at the bottom.

Once the milk starts bubbling, add the cream and rice mixture.

Bring to a boil and add the mango pulp and saffron milk.

mixing mango pulp into the milk with constant stirring

Continue to cook for 5 minutes and then add he sugar or jaggery and adjust quantities as per taste.

Before turning the stove off, the pudding should look like this :

The correct consistency of the mango phirni – neither too thick, nor too runny.

Turn the stove off and serve the phirni is small bowls / personal serving dishes. Allow them to cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator. The best practice here would be cover. them with Saran Wrap to prevent a dry layer to form on top. The mango phirni tastes best when served cold.

Brb gotta finish all these phirnis

Looking for more desserts, here are some suggestions

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