Caramel Phirni

                                                                         

                                                               

                                                                           
Have you ever tasted milk that has been simmered all day long in an earthen pot over a woodfire stove? No? Well, I have...in my ancestral village. So anyway, that is what Caramel Phirni reminded me of when I first tasted it at my cousin's place. The caramel gave the colour and flavour of slowly thickened milk. Absolutely heavenly!!

I have made this recipe many, many times and it has always been appreciated. In fact, my elder daughter prefers it to the traditional kheer or phirni. It was her birthday recently and, although she is far away, I made a few of her favourite things to mark the occasion and this was one of them.

Basically phirni is a rice pudding which is popular in North India and is often made at festivals, weddings and special occasions. It is in some ways similar to kheer as both are  made by cooking rice in milk.  The difference is that in kheer whole rice is used where as in phirni rice is coarsely ground. The consistency of phirni is a little thicker than kheer too.Caramel phirni is a deviation from the classic version which is flavoured with  cardamom.

Ingredients: 
4 cups of milk
2 tbsps of rice
3 to 4 tbsps of sugar
1/4 cup nuts and raisins
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp almond slivers to garnish

Method:     Soak rice for 15 mins to an hour. Wash and  grind it coarsely.  Put 3 cups of milk to boil in  a heavy bottom pan.  Mix 1/2 cup milk with the coarsely ground rice and add to the boiling milk. Lower heat and keep stirring.  Meanwhile, add 3 tbsps sugar to a pan and let it caramelize.  Add 1/2 cup milk and keep aside.  Once the rice grains get softened and milk thickens add the caramel mixture. Close flame once right consistency is reached. The phirni will thicken further when it cools down so keep that in mind. Check sweetness and,  if required, add a tbsp more of sugar.  Also add cardamom powder, nuts and raisins. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with almond slivers. Chill before serving.

Phirni cooks faster than kheer but one has to constantly stir it so no lumps are formed nor does it stick to the bottom of the pan.

I have often served phirni in earthen clay bowls. Try it!