Kesar Phirni

1. Take out 1/4 cup of milk and pour the rest in a heavy-bottomed pan. Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
2. Once it gets a rolling boil, reduce the heat to low.
3. Meanwhile, drain the soaked rice and give it just one quick whizz in a mixer-grinder. Add the remaining milk and give it another quick whizz to make a paste which is not too fine but not too coarse either.
4. Rub saffron strands in your palm and add to the boiling milk to infuse it with a beautiful colour and aroma.
5. As the milk reduces by 20-30% add the ground rice mixture & keep stirring continuously to prevent lumps. Let it simmer till the rice is partially cooked and the mixture thickens a little more.
6. Then add the mawa and mix well. As the mawa melts, the mixture will get thicker and creamier in texture.
7. Now add kewra water to make the phirni even more flavourful.
8. Once the rice is completely cooked, add the sugar, stir and let the phirni cook for a couple of more minutes, allowing the sugar to dissolve completely. After this don’t let it simmer for too long as you don’t want the sugar to caramelise too much and change the colour of the phirni.
9. Once done, remove the pan from the heat and let the phirni cool down slightly. Then, transfer to individual serving kulhads.
10. Keep all the kulhads in the refrigerator to set the phirni completely.
11. Before serving garnish with silver vark & top with the sliced nuts 😋

Recipe Notes