Gur Aur Badam Ki Phirni (Almond and Rice Pudding with Jaggery)

This creamy and delicious Gur aur Badam Ki Phirni is a riff on the classic rice pudding I ate in Amritsar. Made with ground rice, almonds and jaggery, my version is refined sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. It is best served chilled.

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Recipe

Gur Aur Badam Ki Phirni

(Makes 6 servings)

Ingredients

3/4 cup raw almonds 
3 1/4 cups water, divided (more for soaking)
3 tbsp white basmati rice
1/2 cup powdered jaggery
A large pinch saffron 
1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, divided 
A few drops kewra (screwpine) water 

Method

Soak almonds in a bowl of water overnight. Next morning, rinse and skin the almonds.

Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.

Place the blanched almonds in a blender, add 1 cup of water and blend well to form a coarse paste. Add 2 more cups of water and blend again.

Reserve 3/4 cup of this almond milk and transfer the rest to a heavy-bottomed pan (do not strain the almond milk). Add the saffron and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Drain the rice and blend with the reserved almond milk until the rice is finely ground.

Add to the boiled almond milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. The mixture will start to thicken immediately. Add 1 tsp of ground cardamom and continue stirring over low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the rice is cooked.

Turn off the heat and prepare the jaggery syrup.

Heat the powdered jaggery along with 1/4 cup of water until dissolved, strain (to remove any impurities) and add to the phirni. Stir well.

Stir in 1/4 tsp more ground cardamom and a few drops of kewra water.

Spoon into dessert bowls, cover with foil/cling wrap and chill for a few hours before eating.