Ingredients
Pudding
- 1 litrewhole milk
- 80 grice flour
- 120 gsugar
- a pinch of salt
- 30 gbutter
- 2 tbsprose water
To finish
- ground cinnamon
- chopped pistachios or almonds
Directions
- Whisk the rice flour into 250 ml of the cold milk until completely smooth, with no lumps whatsoever.
- Slake it in cold milk. Rice flour tipped into hot milk seizes instantly into lumps and no amount of whisking afterwards will clear them.
- Heat the remaining milk with the sugar and salt until just below boiling.
- Pour the slaked rice flour in slowly, whisking hard the whole time.
- Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, for 15 to 20 minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of a pouring custard.
- Stir without stopping and scrape the base as you go. Rice flour catches quickly and a scorched pot cannot be salvaged.
- Stir in the butter, then take the pan off the heat.
- Add the rose water only now, off the heat. Boiled rose water loses its perfume within a minute, and that perfume is the whole point of the dish.
- Pour into shallow bowls and dust with cinnamon while still warm, so that it sticks rather than sitting loose on the surface.
- It sets considerably as it cools, so serve it looser than you want to eat it.
- Serve warm in winter, which is how it is eaten, and scatter with pistachios or almonds.
Technique
- Rice flour rather than ground rice or whole rice. It gives the smooth, almost silken set that firni is judged on.
- It is traditionally cooked for the sick, which is worth knowing about a dish this gentle.
- Cinnamon is often dusted in a pattern through a stencil, which is a small pleasure worth taking.
Substitutions
- Cornflour in place of some of the rice flour, for a slightly glossier set.
- Orange blossom water instead of rose.
Variations
- With saffron steeped into the milk.
- Made with cardamom rather than rose.
- Phirni, the closely related subcontinental version, set in clay bowls.
History
A cold milk pudding thickened with cornstarch or rice flour and delicately scented with cardamom, developed within the wider Persian-influenced culinary sphere that extends across Azerbaijan, Iran and neighboring Central Asian and Caucasus countries, with closely related milk puddings found under similar names across that broader shared cultural and culinary region rather than firni representing an isolated Azerbaijani-only invention. Its smooth, delicately set texture and light, floral cardamom scent reflect a broader Persian dessert tradition emphasizing subtle, fragrant spicing over heavier, richer flavours more typical of some other regional dessert traditions. Firni remains a traditional dessert across Azerbaijani households, particularly served at celebrations, weddings and significant family gatherings rather than treated as routine everyday fare.
Frequently asked questions
What is Firni?
Firni is a dessert from Azerbaijan: rice-flour milk pudding scented with rosewater and dusted with cinnamon. A cold milk pudding thickened with cornstarch or rice flour and delicately scented with cardamom, developed within the wider Persian-influenced culinary sphere that extends across Azerbaijan, Iran and neighboring Central Asian and Caucasus countries, with closely related milk puddings found under similar names across that broader shared cultural and culinary region rather than firni representing an isolated Azerbaijani-only invention. Its smooth, delicately set texture and light, floral cardamom scent reflect a broader Persian dessert tradition emphasizing subtle, fragrant spicing over heavier, richer flavours more typical of some other regional dessert traditions. Firni remains a traditional dessert across Azerbaijani households, particularly served at celebrations, weddings and significant family gatherings rather than treated as routine everyday fare.
How long does Firni take to make?
Firni takes 10 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Firni?
Yes, within limits. Cornflour in place of some of the rice flour, for a slightly glossier set. Orange blossom water instead of rose.
What is the most important thing to get right in Firni?
Pour the slaked rice flour in slowly, whisking hard the whole time.
