Rose & Cardamom Phirini

Phirini is an Indian style rice pudding using basmati rice with the cardamom and rose gives it a truly Indian flavour. This dessert brings back wonderful memories of my last visit to north India to photograph Holi as phirini a special desert eaten during festivals all served up in little mud pots.

Ingredients – Serves 2

2 Tea India cardamom chai teabags

1 ¼ pints of full fat milk

¼ cup basmati rice

2 tablespoon of food-grade rose petals or dried roses

(I use Polly’s Petals rose petals as they have a wide selection of edible rose petals)

3 tbsp honey (or maple syrup if you prefer)

1 tsp vanilla essence

sliced almonds and rose petals for decoration

Method

Wash then soak rice for 45 minutes this helps with speeding up the cooking time.

Drain the rice and spread it onto a sheet of kitchen paper to dry completely.

Once dry, grind the rice in a blender to a coarse sand (not a fine powder)

Now, in a heavy bottom pan, bring the milk up to heat.

Once the milk it hot reduce the heat to a simmer and add the rose petals and cardamom tea bags.

Simmer for 5 mins so that the milk becomes infused with the flavours of the tea and petals.

Strain the milk & place back in the pan on the heat adding the ground rice, the vanilla and honey. Make sure you keep stirring continuously to avoid lumps forming and the bottom of the pan burning.

Simmer until it thickens to your preferred consistency then pour into dishes for serving.

This pudding can be served hot or cold.

Serve with sliced almonds and a sprinkle of rose petals on top.

Recipe Credit – Lara Jane Thorpe