Kesar Phirni: Kashmir's Saffron Semolina Pudding

In Kashmiri homes, phirni is made with suji rather than rice. A few spoons of fine semolina thicken a litre of milk into something smooth and spoonable, and set cold in little clay pots with saffron running through it, it is one of the best desserts you can make with almost nothing.

What you need (makes six small pots)

• 1 litre full-fat milk
• 6 tablespoons fine suji (semolina)
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 15 to 20 threads of saffron
• 4 green cardamom pods, seeds crushed
• 1 tablespoon pistachios, chopped
• 1 tablespoon almonds, sliced
• A few drops of rose water (optional)

Get the suji right

This is the part that decides the texture.

1. Use fine suji, the kind sold as bareek. Coarse rava stays gritty however long you cook it.
2. Measure it. Six level tablespoons to a litre of milk sets firm but spoonable in clay pots; in steel or glass bowls, use one more. Much more than that and the phirni turns stiff and pasty once it is cold.
3. Never tip it into hot milk in one go. That is where lumps come from. Loosen it in cold milk first, as below.

How to make it

1. Soak the saffron. Take two tablespoons of the milk, warm it, and crumble the saffron in. Leave it aside.
2. Loosen the suji. Stir the suji into half a cup of the cold milk until there are no dry spots.
3. Heat the rest of the milk. Bring it to a boil in a heavy pan, then lower the heat.
4. Add the suji. Pour in the suji mixture in a thin stream while stirring all the time. This is not a moment to walk away. Suji thickens fast and catches on the bottom.
5. Cook it gently. Keep stirring over low heat for eight to ten minutes, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon heavily.
6. Sweeten and colour it. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add the saffron milk, the cardamom and the rose water, if you're using it. Cook for two more minutes.
7. Pour and set. Pour it into small bowls or clay pots. Scatter the pistachios and almonds over the top. Let it cool, then chill it for at least three hours.

Why clay pots?

They are not just for looks. Unglazed clay draws a little moisture out of the phirni as it sets, so it firms up beautifully and picks up a faint earthy smell. Soak new clay pots in water for an hour before you use them, then let them dry, so they don't drink too much.

Steel or glass bowls work fine too. The phirni will just be a touch softer.

If something went wrong

• Lumpy? The suji went in too fast or wasn't stirred. Push it through a sieve while it's still hot.
• Too thin after chilling? It needed a few more minutes on the stove. Next time, cook it until it is thicker than you think it should be. It sets further as it cools.
• Too thick or rubbery? Too much suji, or cooked too long. Stir in a little warm milk before pouring, and use a little less suji next time.

The saffron matters here

In phirni, the saffron isn't hidden behind spices or meat. It is the flavour. That's why we'd use the all-red [Mongra cut](/products/pampore-saffron) rather than anything with yellow in it, and why the [pistachios](/products/pistachios-pista) on top are worth buying fresh.