Rose Phirni Recipe | Gulab Phirni | Rose Firni | Diwali 2024 | Diwali Recipes
Phirni is a traditional Indian dessert, served more so in the northern part of India. Phirni may sound like kheer however the main difference is in the rice texture, in Kheer we take whole rice and boil the same with milk, however, in Phirni we take ground rice and cook it in simmered milk till creamy. This pudding-like dessert is flavored with cardamom and saffron, however, in this recipe it has been flavored with rose. I have used both rose syrup as well as dried rose petals for the flavor & color in this Rose Phirni recipe.
Phirni is claimed to be an adaptation of mughals fereni, basis the cooking technique & texture. There are also many variants in India when it comes to making Phirni, many in Kashmir use rava, while the rest of the northern region uses ground rice. Also it is traditionally served chilled in earthen cups / Kulhads which absorb the extra moisture and give it an even thicker consistency. However you decide to make it, this makes for an absolutely rich delicacy.
Rose phrini/ Firni, a traditional dessert made with ground rice, and sugar, slow-cooked in milk & flavored with rose petals & rose syrup.
I have used basmati rice as it gives the phirni/ firni a good texture and fragrance.
I have used dried edible rose petals & rose syrup, you can opt for any store-bought rose syrup for example Rooh afza , rose essence or rose water.
I have not used condensed milk as I like the conventional recipe which involves slow cooking the milk till it is creamy, as it gives a balanced sweetness & texture to the Rose Phirni as compared to condensed milk.
Although you can use the same if you want in which case , you may have to reduce the sugar added else it will be very sweet.
- 1 liter Full Fat Milk
- 1/4 cup Basmati Rice (Any rice is fine)
- 6 tablespoons Sugar (Or as per your taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon Powdered Cardamom
- 1 pinch Saffron
- 10-12 Chopped Almonds
- 10-12 Chopped Pistachios
- 2 tablespoons Dried edible rose petals soaked in 2 Tbsp Warm milk
- 1 tablespoon Dried rose petals
- 10 Chopped mixed Almonds & pistachios
Wash the rice thoroughly with water, till water runs clean. Drain the rice well in a colander.
Dry the rice well, let it dry in a colander, or spread on a cotton cloth while you prepare the milk.
Keep aside one cup of milk to be used later, and take rest of the milk in a heavy bottom pan and heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally careful not to allow the cream to form on the top.
Once the milk heats up, dry grind the dried rice to a coarse powder, if there is still some water left in the rice it is ok.
To this ground rice, add the remaining 1 cup of milk, which you had kept aside beforehand, and mix well. This step ensures that there is no lump of rice in the Phirni.
Pour this rice mix to the hot milk, stirring continuously on low to medium heat.
Keep stirring the rice continuously till rice cooks & Phirni thickens slightly. Keep stirring till Phirni is of pouring consistency and it starts coating the back of the spoon. To this add the chopped nuts.
Crush the saffron threads with your fingers & add in the Phirni, followed by Cardamom powder & sugar, and mix well.
Add the rose petals & pink rose syrup and mix well , switch off the heat. Pls note that Phirni thickens further once it starts to cool.
Take Rose Phirni off the gas & keep stirring occasionally as it cools down to room temperature to avoid a thick layer of cream forming on top of the Rose Phirni
Once at room temperature transfer Rose Phirni/ Firni to serving cups and refrigerate overnight or at least 4-5 hrs for best results.
Serve Rose Phirni/ Firni garnished with additional dried rose petals & nuts at room temperature or chilled.
- Rose Phirni/ Firni is a rich Indian dessert, thus using Full fat milk, basmati rice & saffron gives it a good taste & texture.
- Grinding the rice to a coarse powder is important, or else it will taste like kheer.
- Try cooking on slow heat, as once milk thickens it tends to burn quickly and that burnt smell is impossible to remove.
- If you are using sweetened rose syrup then be careful of the amount of sugar you are using as it will be a lot sweeter then.
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