Some of the oldest and fondest memories of my hometown are of family get-togethers and mango orchards. Mango is everyone’s favourite fruit in my family. And if you have grown up in a traditional Muslim household like me, you know that no family get-together meal is complete without Phirni.
I have always received flak from my family for not being a mango connoisseur despite growing up so close to mango orchards. 😛 Call it an emancipation of that but here is my ode to those childhood memories.
Time Required: 2-3 hours preparation, 15 mins cooking time, 5-6 hours for setting
Ingredients
Full Cream Milk: 1 litre
Rice/Rice powder: 2 tablespoon
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Cashew paste: 1 teaspoon
Cardamom: 4-5, crushed coarsely
Finely grated coconut: 1/2 cup, some more for garnishing
Mangoes : 2 peeled, cubed for puree and 2 peeled for garnishing. Make sure the mangoes are ripe and not tangy
Recipe
- Soak the rice for 2-3 hours. Once soaked, spread it over a kitchen towel and let it air-dry for atleast an hour. Then grind this in a mixer with some water/milk. If you have rice powder, you can mix it with a some water or milk to make a some slurry.
- Put the milk to boil.
- While the milk boils, make the cashew paste and crush the cardamoms coarsely using a mortar-pestle.
- Make a puree of the cubed mangoes and set it aside.
- Once the milk reaches its first boil, add the rice slurry. Now reduce the heat to medium-high and keep stirring every couple of minutes.
- Once you see that the rice has mixed evenly with the milk and you do not feel any coarse rice particles when you rub it between your fingers, add the mango puree, grated coconut & cardamom powder. Keep stirring.
- Once the phirni reaches another boil, add in the cashew paste, give everything a quick mix and switch off the flame.
- Pour the hot phirni into earthen bowls and allow it to set in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours. Once set, add mangoes/coconut on top to garnish.
Happy cooking!
MK
Wishy Side Up 