Phirni: Cardamom and Saffron Ground Rice Pudding
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
Soaked basmati ground to a coarse paste and simmered in milk with sugar, cardamom and saffron, finished with almonds and pistachios.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Rinse the rice. Cover the rice with cold water, swish it hard with your hand, then drain. Repeat until the water stays clear; washing off surface starch keeps the pudding from turning gluey.
- 2
Soak. Cover the rice with 500 ml fresh water and soak for 2 h, then drain it well.
- 3
Grind coarsely. Pulse in the blender about 8 times, until you have a gritty paste with some visible pieces. That coarse grind is what gives phirni its characteristic texture.
- 4
Simmer and stir. Put the rice paste, milk, sugar, cardamom and saffron in the pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 25 min, stirring all the time and scraping the base so nothing catches, until the rice is soft and the pudding is as thick as custard.
- 5
Add the nuts. Stir in half of the almonds and pistachios.
- 6
Serve. Spoon into the bowls and scatter over the remaining nuts. Eat it warm, or chill for 2 h for a firmer, more traditional set.
Storage
Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Serve cold, or stir in a splash of milk and warm gently until hot.
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 3 g protein per 100 kcal, about 12% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low salt: 0.14 g salt per 100 g (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 197 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
24.9 g per serving
49.8 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 99.6 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large bowl
- fine sieve
- blender or food processor
- heavy-based saucepan
- silicone spatula
- 4 serving bowls
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 438 kcal |
| Protein | 13.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 61.2 g |
| of which sugars | 38.3 g |
| of which free sugars | 24.9 g |
| Fat | 16.5 g |
| of which saturates | 5.4 g |
| Fibre | 2.4 g |
| Salt | 0.27 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
