Rabri
Rabri is a rich, slowly reduced milk pudding, sweetened and scented with cardamom and rosewater. It tastes creamy and milky-sweet, with slivered nuts adding texture.
Cardamom finishing spice
0.8 gSprinkled in after the sugar dissolves and the pan is off the heat (step 5)Everything else
Method
- Put 4138 g full cream milk in a large heavy pan and bring it to the boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often, until the milk is very thick and has reduced to about one-quarter of its starting volume.
- Scrape the milk film from the sides of the pan back into the simmering milk as you go.
- Stir in 300 g granulated sugar, take the pan off the heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Sprinkle in the masala, the cardamom finishing spice (0.8 g), with 0.1 g rosewater, 18–24 g slivered almonds and 8.7–11.6 g slivered pistachios.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 1–2 hours.
Don't have something?
Whole milkUse the same weight; it is the closest match in richness.
MilkUse the same weight; the dish will be slightly less creamy, so reduce any added water.
Milk powderFor 100 g milk, use 12 g milk powder with 88 g water and whisk until smooth.
JaggeryUse equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.
Green cardamom podWeigh roughly 2.5 times the seed requirement; crack pods open and discard the fibrous green husks.
Ground green cardamomUse 75% of the weight; stir in off the flame or near the end of cooking to maintain its fragrance.
Screwpine water or rosewaterIf using kewra water, use 50% of the volume specified; it is intensely floral and pungent, so add drop by drop to avoid overpowering.
- Ground green cardamom
Use 0.5 g ground spice for every 5 ml rosewater. Adds warm, perfumed top notes, shifting the aroma from floral to sweet spice.
Dried rose petalsSteep 1 g dried petals in 15 ml hot milk or water for 10 minutes, strain, and stir in for a subtle, natural floral note.
AlmondUse the same weight; cover with hot water for 5 minutes, then slip off the skins.
Blanched split almondUse the same weight; they are already peeled and split, so use whole or chop as needed.
Cashew nutUse the same weight; soak in warm water before grinding. They are softer and richer, so the dish will be creamier.
PistachioUse 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.
Similar dishes
- Same: Kulfi shares with this dish a base of full-cream milk slowly reduced with sugar and a floral scent, plus nuts.
- Different: Kulfi uses kewra water and almonds only, lacks cardamom, rosewater and pistachios, and is frozen dense rather than served as thickened milk.
- Same: Kalakand and this dish are both sweet milk-based Indian desserts made with sugar and garnished with pistachio.
- Different: Kalakand uses khoya and ghee or butter and sets into a fudgy solid, while this dish simmers full-cream milk down and flavors it with cardamom, rosewater and almonds; neither uses a souring agent.
- Same: Both are full-cream milk desserts scented with rosewater and topped with pistachio nuts.
- Different: Nimish uses far less milk plus heavy cream, cream of tartar and icing sugar, and it is whipped into a chilled foam rather than simmered down with granulated sugar, cardamom and almonds.
- Same: Sherbet-e-Gulab shares milk, sugar and rosewater with this dish, and both are sweet rose-scented preparations.
- Different: Sherbet-e-Gulab infuses red rose petals into sugar syrup and blends it with chilled milk; it has no cardamom, no almonds or pistachios, and is not simmered down like this dish.