Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Phirni
Phirni (Milk & Rice Dessert)

Phirni

Milk & Rice Dessert
VegetarianOrigin Delhi/AwadhPrep 30 minutes, plus soaking timeCook 30–35 minutes

A delicately sweetened, creamy North Indian ground-rice pudding infused with floral essences. It has a smooth, custard-like consistency punctuated by the crunch of blanched nuts.

Ingredients

01
Rice · Chawal
35 g3 tablespoons
grain
02
Milk · Doodh
776 g750 ml
dairy
03
Granulated sugar · Cheeni
76 g6 tablespoons
sweetener
04
Almond · Badamblanched
10–12 g8–10 almonds
nut/seed
05
Unsalted pistachio nut · Pistablanched and slivered
15 g2 tablespoons
nut/seed
06
Screwpine water or rosewater · Kewra water or rosewater
~0.1 gdrop
liquid

Method

  1. Submerge 3 tablespoon rice in a small bowl of water and leave it to soak for 30 minutes.
  2. Drain the rice thoroughly, transfer it to a food processor or blender, and blitz until ground into a paste.
  3. Add 776 g milk to a heavy saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil, then drop the heat and let it simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Incorporate the rice paste and 75.6 g granulated sugar into the warm milk. Simmer gently over low heat for approximately 20 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent sticking, until the volume decreases by one-third and thickens.
  5. Take the pan off the heat and ladle the mixture into individual serving dishes.
  6. Garnish the top with 8 blanched almonds, 2 tablespoon blanched and slivered pistachios, and a finish of 0.1 g kewra water or rosewater.

Don't have something?

Rice
  • Basmati rice

    Use the same weight; rinse and soak as needed. Fluffier and drier, so use slightly less water.

  • Long-grain rice

    Use the same weight; similar behaviour, adjust water to your usual method.

  • Short-grain rice

    Use the same weight; stickier and softer, so reduce water and avoid stirring.

Milk
  • Whole milk

    Use equal weight; provides the standard rich dairy fat and body expected in creamy Indian bases.

  • Single cream

    Dilute 3 parts cream with 1 part water to match the weight; yields a richer, glossier gravy that resists curdling.

  • Plain yogurt

    Whisk thoroughly and use equal weight; adds extra body and a mild pleasant acidity, best added off the heat.

Granulated sugar
  • Jaggery

    Use equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.

Almond
  • Cashew nut

    Use equal weight. Soak in warm water and grind to a paste or fry identically; yields a slightly creamier and sweeter sauce.

  • Shelled peanut

    Use equal weight. Lightly roast, skin, and grind; introduces a heavier body and a pronounced roasted-nut aroma.

Unsalted pistachio nut
  • Pistachio

    Use the same weight; check for salt and adjust the recipe's salt.

  • Almond

    Use the same weight; toast lightly before chopping. It is milder but works for garnishes and pastes.

  • Cashew nut

    Use the same weight; grind with a little water for pastes. It is softer and sweeter.

Kewra water or rosewater
  • Rosewater

    Use equal volume; replaces the grassy, pandan-like kewra aroma with a sweet floral note.

  • Green cardamom pod

    Crush seeds from 2 pods per teaspoon of floral water and add to the simmering gravy; provides sweet aromatic lift without floral perfume.

Similar dishes

Payesh
Sweet Rice & Milk
Payesh has a warm, herbal cardamom aroma rather than the floral, perfumed flavor of this dish.
  • Same: Payesh is also a sweet Indian rice pudding made by simmering milk with sugar.
  • Different: It uses whole rice simmered with whole green cardamom pods and more milk, omitting the ground rice and floral kewra or rosewater used in this dish.
Kheer
Rice Pudding
Kheer tastes richer and sweeter, with cardamom-saffron floral spice and a soft whole-rice pudding texture, while this dish is a smoother ground-rice custard with a lighter floral note.
  • Same: Kheer and this dish are both milk-and-rice puddings sweetened with sugar and finished with pistachios, almonds, and a floral water.
  • Different: Kheer cooks whole rice in more milk with much more sugar and adds green cardamom, saffron, and edible silver leaf, while this dish uses ground rice, less sugar, and only kewra or rosewater.
Palpayasam
Rice Flour Dumplings in Sweet Milk
Palpayasam tastes warmly spiced with cardamom and nutmeg rather than floral, featuring crisp, soaked dumplings instead of a smooth pudding.
  • Same: Palpayasam also uses milk, rice, and granulated sugar to create a sweet dessert.
  • Different: Palpayasam fries rice-flour dumplings in peanut oil instead of thickening milk with ground rice, and seasons with green cardamom and nutmeg rather than kewra or rosewater.
Sheer Birinj
Regal Milk & Rice Dessert
Sheer Birinj tastes significantly richer, creamier, and warmly spiced with cardamom compared to this lighter, floral pudding.
  • Same: Like this dish, Sheer Birinj is a milk-and-rice dessert sweetened with sugar and flavored with kewra or rosewater.
  • Different: Sheer Birinj incorporates whole basmati rice, ghee, khoya, clotted cream, cashew paste, and green cardamom pods, whereas this dish relies on ground rice without extra dairy fats.