Mango Phirni with Almonds

Mango Phirni with Almonds – a decadent sweet Indian Rice Pudding with milk, rice and mangoes along with some almonds; a perfect exotic and easy dessert to serve any time!

Mango season and I am here in India this summer; the last two summers, I was with my sons in USA and was missing the mind boggling varieties of mangoes we get here!

Last week, a family friend, who owns a farm, rang the door bell and when I opened up the door, he had left a large bag of gorgeous mangoes and was gone; pandemic times but yay for us!

If you check my previous post, you will notice that my first mango treats for this summer were 2 in 1 mango trifle and mango popsicles to celebrate my 4th Blog Anniversary!

When our Facebook gourmet group “Healthy Wellthy Cuisines” asked me to suggest a theme for this bimonthly share, I could not resist but mention "chilled desserts" as it is getting hotter by the day here and I am making this decadent, chilled “Mango Phirni”!

WHAT IS PHIRNI?

Phirni is an Indian milk Pudding thickened with coarsely blended or powdered rice. Soaked rice (preferably Basmati rice as it is aromatic) is coarsely blended and cooked in milk with some sugar until thick.

This is then chilled traditionally in small clay pots until it gets thick and scrumptious! The clay pot absorbs some of the moisture and thickens the pudding beautifully not to mention the rustic and earthy aroma a clay pot can give!

I did not have these, so used some dessert glasses.

Green cardamom powder and/or rose water and saffron are added for flavor and aroma and sometimes garnished with nuts.

MANGO PHIRNI:

It has been ages since I had eaten or made phirni; the last time was when I was living in Delhi (20 years back!) So, I thought, now is the time to make it again, albeit with a slight twist!

To  make mango phirni, I mixed in some mango puree as it is mango season and I had a large basket of farm grown mangoes!

With a large batch of mangoes in the fridge, no excuse ain’t it?

Again, I love adding almond mix powder (store bought), which I use to make a hot or cold drink, in many of my desserts like I have in Instant Rasmalai, Carrots in Cardamom milk and Eggless Saffron laced Almond cookies, so why not in this one too?

If you cannot find this mix, just add almond paste (recipe below) or even omit it.

Once the rice pudding was ready, I cooled it thoroughly before stirring in fresh mango puree from one small mango, but wait, into one half only!

The blogger in me does not allow me to present it the normal way! I had to layer 2 colors of phirni to make it look pretty!

Once layered, I set them in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly; this rice dessert thickens beautifully into a pudding like consistency!

One spoon of this and I guarantee, you will not stop until the dessert glass is empty!! Experience speaks; that is what happened when my husband and I devoured it in one go!

For a vegan option, use almond milk instead of regular milk.

Enjoy this decadent and luscious dessert totally chilled garnished with your favorite nuts, we used pistachios.

Sharing this our Face Book group "Healthy Wellthy Cuisines" for the theme "Cool Desserts".

Here are some more "Cool Desserts" shared by my friends to enjoy this summer or any time:

• Mango Pannacotta by Jayashree
• Carrot Kheer/Payasam by Preethi
• Basundi Recipe by Narmadha
• Mint Rasgulla by Sujata
• Mango-Pineapple Sorbet by Sasmita

STEP-WISE INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE MANGO PHIRNI WITH ALMONDS:

• Wash  Basmati rice in plenty of water until the water runs clear and then soak in water for at least an hour.

• After one hour, drain and make into a coarse paste with some milk.

• If using fresh almonds instead of almond mix powder, soak about 8 to 10 almonds in hot water for about 30 minutes, peel and blend to a fine paste with some water or even milk.

TO MAKE PHIRNI:

• Boil the rest of the milk in a deep and wide saucepan and once it comes to a boil, add the badam milk powder or almond paste.
• Boil and simmer on medium low heat, uncovered for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
• Add the rice paste and soaked saffron; stir well. Bring to a boil again and lower the heat to medium. Simmer continuously, until the rice is cooked; about 10 - 15 minutes.

• After 15 minutes, add 2-3 tbsp of sugar; remember, if using badam mix powder, it already has some sugar and if using almond paste, add some more.
• Keep simmering until the whole mixture turns slightly thick and the rice is cooked completely!
• Stir in cardamom powder, give it a good mix and remove from heat.

• It took about 30 minutes for me for this whole process.
• Allow to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, peel, chop and make a puree of one fresh mango.
• Divide the phirni mixture into 2.
• In one, add the mango puree and gently mix.

TO ASSEMBLE THE MANGO PHIRNI:

• In a serving individual glass or a bowl, start layering the phirnis, starting with the plain one.
• Continue till the top of the dessert glass, making neat layers. It helps to use a spoon to layer the phirni, starting around the edges, then filling the center.

• Transfer the 2 dessert glasses to a tray and place in refrigerator to chill thoroughly for at least 3 to 5 hours.
• Just before serving, garnish with finely chopped pistachios, saffron strands and mint leaves.

• Serve chilled, sweet, delicious, exotic and divine Mango Phirni for dessert at parties, festivals or even to enjoy as an after dinner/lunch dessert with family!
• Enjoy foodies!

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