Rice & Lychee Milk Pudding
Leechee ki Phirni
Reeta Kumar
Lychees come into season during the hot summer in India. They have a short season. Their outside skin may be unattractive, but the inside flesh is full of juices and flavour. Here, the flavour of Lychees is combined with a very traditional Indian pudding, called Phirni. Also see Phirni, Mango Phirni and Peanut Phirni.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
300 gm. lychees, peeled and cut into small pieces. If using tinned, try to use the ones with no added sugar. Drain and cut into pieces.
1 litre milk
3 tbs. grated Khoya or Mawa 1 / Khoya or Mawa 2. In the West, you can buy it from some Indian grocers. If not available, make your own or use double cream* instead.
40 gm. basmati rice or any good quality long grain rice
100 gm. sugar
1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
12 pistachios, unsalted, finely chopped
12 almonds, blanched, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. rose water (if using rose essence, use only a few drops)
Instructions
Wash and soak rice in water for 15 minutes.
Grind it lightly to a granular consistency.
In a heavy bottomed pan, bring milk to boil and continue boiling briskly for 10 minutes. You have to keep stirring to stop it from boiling over/catching.
Add rice and cook until a thick texture is achieved, like a batter or a thick custard. If the milk was boiling when you added the ground rice, this only takes about 5 minutes,. Sometimes, you need a little more ground rice than given in the recipe for getting the right consistency. Do not be afraid to add more, a little at a time, until correct consistency is reached.
Add khoya*, sugar, sliced lycheese and stir for 2 minutes.
Sprinkle cardamom or illaichi powder, half the chopped nuts and rose water and stir.
Turn heat off. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Decorate with remaining nuts.
Serve it chilled.
Notes
*If using cream instead of khoya, add after the finished dish has cooled down.
