Phirni aka firni recipe is an exotic Indian dessert recipe which is prepared during festivals to celebrate joy, happiness and spread sweetness among close ones. Phirni sweet recipe is known for its simplicity, unbeatable taste, rich, thick and creamy texture and its exotic flavour. This succulent dessert is the amalgamation of coarsely ground rice, milk, sugar, saffron and cardamom powder with some chopped dry nuts. It is mostly relished as dessert after lunch. It is always served chilled to enjoy the best taste.
Indian sweet recipes play a vital role in Indian culinary as well as Indian culture. In any part of India, festivals or ceremonies are incomplete without sweets. In fact, someone’s success or any good news is celebrated by sharing sweets with their close ones. Any celebration with homemade sweet recipes makes every occasion more special and worthier. And when it comes to homemade sweets, kheer, phirni recipes and halwa recipes strike first in any homemaker’s mind. Phirni is a perfect exotic dessert to celebrate the occasions like Eid, Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Diwali, Holi etc.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
Frequently Asked Questions
How to make Phirni (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
What is Phirni?
Phirni is a very popular Indian dessert recipe which is prepared in almost every household in north India during the time of festivals. It is also spelt as firni. According to many people, phirni is adapted from the Mughals and the dessert used to be prepared for the royals. So, it is also known as shahi phirni. Phirni is quite similar to the Persian dessert fereni which is prepared using similar ingredients and the same cooking techniques.
But at the same time, phirni is not similar to European-style rice pudding or Indian kheer recipes prepared with rice or south Indian style payasam.
Phirni is a slow-cooking dessert recipe in which coarsely ground rice is cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar. Usually, it is flavoured with cardamom powder, saffron, kewra water or rose water. Chopped nuts are added as a topping to enhance the taste and flavour of the dish. Traditionally, phirni is served in earthen bowls (shikoras, matkas) to keep it chilled for longer. Other than that, the clay pots absorbs the excess moisture and gives a unique flavour and thick texture to the dessert.
Types of Phirni
I know it can amaze people, but Firni has more than a hundred of different varieties and each preparation gives you a different experience in both taste and flavour.
Among these different types – Kesar Firni, Gur Phirni, Kesar-Pista Firni, Mango Firni, Rose Firni, Coconut Firni, rava phirni and a few others are most popular during festive seasons.
What is the difference between Phirni and Chawal Ki Kheer?
Not only foreigners but also many Indians get confused between Firni and Chawal Ki Kheer. Both desserts are cooked with rice, milk, sugar and some dry fruits and the cooking process is also quite similar. But both taste completely different from each other.
- Chawal Ki Kheer is prepared with whole rice whereas Firni is cooked with coarsely grind Basmati rice.
- Chawal Ki Kheer takes more time to get cooked than Firni.
- Chawal Ki Kheer is creamy but not smooth for its grainy texture. On the other hand, Firni is smoother, creamier and thicker in texture.
- Chawal Ki Kheer can be served warm, at room temperature or chilled but Firni is always served chilled.
- In restaurants and hotels, Chawal Ki Kheer is served in a glass bowl or bone china bowl but Firni is always served in earthen bowls.
Phirni is a super simple recipe which requires minimal ingredients to get prepared. It requires a little time to get prepared, but the difficulty level of cooking is low. It is a full-proof recipe, and nothing can go wrong with it. The best part of the recipe is that it can be prepared in large portions without investing any extra effort which makes it a perfect dessert option for small parties and get-togethers.
From Diwali to Raksha Bandhan, any occasion is perfect to prepare this dish. This delicious dessert has now become part and parcel of our life on special occasions. The best part of the recipe is that it a kid’s friendly dessert and toddlers can also have it. My little monster is also one of the main reasons behind this. Phirni is one of the most favourite desserts of my daughter. When I prepare this dessert and serve her, I can see inimitable happiness in her eyes.
Reasons behind the popularity of Phirni
- First of all because of its unbeatable taste and flavour.
- It is very easy to make.
- It gets prepared with very limited ingredients
- It’s gluten-free and vegetarian
- It’s a toddler-friendly dessert if you skip the chopped nuts.
Phirni recipe with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share a few interesting facts about the Indian dessert. If you follow the recipe step by step, then you will get the perfect firni which is much better than the market-bought ones.
Tips to prepare perfect Phirni
- Always use good quality basmati rice and full-fat milk for the recipe.
- Wash the rice in the water a couple of times and completely dry it before coarsely grinding for a better and even texture.
- Mix the coarsely ground rice with some room-temperature milk and stir it before adding it to the pan to avoid lumps to occur.
- Phirni is a slow-cooking recipe so it’s always better to cook it on low flame.
- Stir the content at regular intervals of time, especially the sides and bottom of the pan to avoid sticking.
- To set the phirni in any utensil, you need to serve it immediately after switching off the flame. Once the phirni cools down, it becomes thick and it won’t get set evenly.
- Adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste.
- Try to use both the flavouring agents – cardamom powder and saffron streaks for the recipe.
- You can choose your choice of toppings for the recipe.
Frequently asked Questions
What type of milk is to be used for the recipe?
To prepare Firni, always use full-fat milk. It gives the best result. Normally, in the traditional recipe, neither khoya, mawa nor condensed milk is used to make it yummier or to thicken its texture. For this recipe, I have followed the same to uphold the authenticity of the dish.
Utensils to be used to prepare Phirni
Always use a heavy bottom non-stick pan to prepare Firni. It helps to prevent the burning of milk and resist sticking to the bottom of the pan. Even it helps the milk not to stick along the sides of the pan.
How to make perfect lumps-free Phirni?
- After coarsely grinding the rice, take it out in a bowl and add some milk at room-temperature to it. Mix the content before adding it to the boiled milk to cook.
- When you add the coarsely ground rice and milk mixture into the boiled milk, stir vigorously with the help of a spatula for a few minutes. Otherwise, lumps may occur.
- During the time of cooking the coarsely ground rice, stir the milk repeatedly in small intervals of time.
What type of rice is to be used for Phirni?
Any kind of uncooked rice can be used for the recipe but basmati rice works best for this recipe. Basmati rice has its own nice soothing aroma which goes fantastic with the recipe.
What type of flavouring agent can be used for the recipe?
Normally, cardamom powder and saffron are used to flavour up the dessert but additionally, you can also add rose water or kewra water for the recipe.
How to make Phirni?
For the firni recipe, I have used aromatic long-grain Basmati rice. Basmati rice works best for the recipe because of its unique taste. But any aromatic rice can be used for the recipe.
First, wash the rice a couple of times and then strain the water completely and allow it to get dry. Then transfer the dried rice into a jar of a grinder and coarsely ground them. Then transfer the content to a bowl and add some milk at room temperature into it. Stir the content and keep it aside.
I have used full-fat milk for phirni recipe. Take a heavy bottom pan and add milk to boil. Once the milk boils, add some saffron streaks into it and mix it well. Then reduce the milk to almost 80% on low to medium-low flame.
Stir the ground rice and milk mixture one more time with a spoon before adding to the pan or else coarsely ground rice may settle down at the bottom of the bowl. Add the mixture into the pan and stir it quickly so that lumps can’t occur. Cook it on low flame until the rice gets cooked.
Then add sugar into the pan when the rice gets cooked completely. I cooked the phirni slowly on low flame until it gets thickened to the desired consistency. Phirni is a slow-cooking recipe but it is completely worth spending every second on this luscious creamy dessert. According to Grannies, it tastes best if it is cooked slowly with patience and love without any shortcuts.
At the final stage, add some cardamom powder to the pan and give a nice mix. Then switch off the pan.
To set the phirni in any utensil whether it’s matka aka clay pot or glass bowl, you need to serve it immediately after switching off the flame. Once the phirni cools down, it becomes thick and it won’t get set evenly.
After serving the phirni into the bowls, add some finely chopped pistachio, cashew nuts and saffron streaks into this Firni as topping after serving. But this step is completely optional. You can add any of your preferable dry fruits to the dish like almonds, raisins, walnuts etc. Then cover the bowls with aluminium foils or cling film and refrigerate for a few hours to become chill.
Many phirni recipes have already been shared in my previous posts. You may check a few of them like
Kesar Phirni
Gur Phirni
Mango phirni
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 Cup =250 ml
- ¼ cup Basmati rice
- 1 litre aka 4 cups full-fat milk
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons Sugar, adjust accordingly
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder (Elaichi powder)
- 1 pinch Saffron streaks aka Kesar
- 10 Pistachios, finely chopped for topping
- 10 Cashew nuts, finely chopped for topping
- 12-15 Saffron streaks for topping (Optional)
Instructions:
- First, wash ¼ cup Basmati rice a couple of times and then strain the water completely and allow it to get dry.
- Transfer the dried rice into a jar of a grinder and coarsely ground them.
- Transfer the content to a bowl and add ½ cup room temperature milk into it. Stir the content and keep it aside.
- Take a heavy bottom pan and add 3½ cups milk into it. Put the flame on medium to boil. Stir at regular intervals.
- Once the milk starts boiling, turn the flame low and add a pinch of saffron streaks into it and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 4-5 minutes to reduce the milk slightly.
- Stir the ground rice and milk mixture one more time with a spoon before adding to the pan or else coarsely ground rice may settle down at the bottom of the bowl. Add the mixture into the pan and stir it quickly so that lumps can’t occur. Cook it on low flame for 15-20 minutes until the rice gets cooked.
- Add ½ cup and 2 tablespoons of sugar into the pan when the rice gets cooked completely. You can adjust the amount of sugar according to your choice.
- Cook the phirni slowly on low flame until it gets thickened to the desired consistency.
- At the final stage, add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder into the pan and give a nice mix. Then switch off the pan.
- Pour the phirni into individual bowls immediately. Add some finely chopped pistachio, cashew nuts and saffron streaks as topping after serving.
- Cover the bowls with aluminium foils or cling film and refrigerate for a few hours to become chill.
- Now your phirni is ready to serve.
Serving Instruction
Transfer Phirni aka Firni into bowls and garnish with sliced cashews, pistachios and a few saffron streaks. Put it in the refrigerator and allow it to get set. Serve chilled phirni to your family and friends and enjoy the classic dessert.
Ingredients
1 Cup =250 ml
- ¼ cup Basmati rice
- 1 litre aka 4 cups full-fat milk
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons Sugar, adjust accordingly
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder (Elaichi powder)
- 1 pinch Saffron streaks aka Kesar
- 10 Pistachios, finely chopped for topping
- 10 Cashew nuts, finely chopped for topping
- 12-15 Saffron streaks for topping (Optional)
Instructions
- First, wash ¼ cup Basmati rice a couple of times and then strain the water completely and allow it to get dry.
- Transfer the dried rice into a jar of a grinder and coarsely ground them.
- Transfer the content to a bowl and add ½ cup room temperature milk into it. Stir the content and keep it aside.
- Take a heavy bottom pan and add 3½ cups milk into it. Put the flame on medium to boil. Stir at regular intervals.
- Once the milk starts boiling, turn the flame low and add a pinch of saffron streaks into it and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 4-5 minutes to reduce the milk slightly.
- Stir the ground rice and milk mixture one more time with a spoon before adding to the pan or else coarsely ground rice may settle down at the bottom of the bowl. Add the mixture into the pan and stir it quickly so that lumps can’t occur. Cook it on low flame for 15-20 minutes until the rice gets cooked.
- Add ½ cup and 2 tablespoons of sugar into the pan when the rice gets cooked completely. You can adjust the amount of sugar according to your choice.
- Cook the phirni slowly on low flame until it gets thickened to the desired consistency.
- At the final stage, add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder into the pan and give a nice mix. Then switch off the pan.
- Pour the phirni into individual bowls immediately. Add some finely chopped pistachio, cashew nuts and saffron streaks as topping after serving.
- Cover the bowls with aluminium foils or cling film and refrigerate for a few hours to become chill.
- Now your phirni is ready to serve.
