It’s the season of festivals. After Baisakhi, Vishu, and Easter, the world is gearing up for Eid which falls on 3rd May this year. But before Eid comes the holy month of Ramzan. Also known as Ramadan, this month is very significant to Muslims around the world. It is said that the gates of heaven are always opened during this month and all prayers are answered. Through the month, many Muslims also observe fasts called ‘roza’. During Roza, which lasts from sunrise to moonrise, people refrain from eating anything, even consuming a drop of water is not permissible. It is a tough fast to keep indeed, and this is why pregnant women and the elderly are advised not to keep the fasts. In the evening when the sun sets, everybody gathers together after reading their prayers and break their fats together. This is a time to bond with family and friends and eat food together. This is the time of Iftar.
Over the years, Iftar has come to be associated with rich biryanis, kormas and kebabs, however, there are no set rules to iftar. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. While you can look up the best biryani recipes, but for days when you are low on energy and ingredients, you can simply whip this Mango Phirni.
Phirni is a delectable pudding that is made with the mixture of milk, sugar and rice. While its core ingredients may remind you of another milk pudding, prepared lavishly across all Indian festivities, yes, we are indeed talking about kheer, but Phirni is very different from kheer in terms of texture and even colour. Here, rice is not boiled with milk, but a coarse mixture of rice is mixed with boiling milk and is cooked until the pudding is thick. To give this pudding a seasonal upgrade, we have the king of fruits mangoes. Mangoes are chopped up and blended too for their pulp. The pulp is then added to the phirni to make it all the more delicious. Next items to be added are cashew paste, sugar and cardamom. Do not forget to garnish your phirni with nuts and serve it chilled.
In this exclusive recipe shot by home chef Sonia Sarpal for Slurrp, she shows us how to make easy-peasy Mango Phirni for Iftar.
Mango Phirni Recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 ltr milk
- 4 tbsp Basmati rice( washed & soaked)
- 2 tbsp water for soaking rice
- 2 Mangoes for pulp
- 100gm sugar
- 1 tbsp cashew nut paste
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- Dry fruits & mango for garnishing
Method:
- Boil milk on medium flame.
- Soak rice for 30 mins. Grind rice to coarse paste. Add to milk.
- Add mangoes to blender. Make a thick but smooth pulp.
- Mix with phirni. Add sugar
- Add cashewnut paste to the phirni and mix well
- Then sprinkle some cardamom powder for the aroma.
- Garnish with nuts. Serve chilled.