Mango Phirni (With Condensed Milk)

Easy to make mango phirni recipe made with semolina, fresh mango pulp,condensed milk and milk. This simple indian mango dessert is a quick to make and requires least effort.

About The Recipe

Both kheer and phirni (or firni) are indian puddings traditionally made by slow cooking ground basmati rice and whole milk, sweetened and then flavored with cardamom or saffron or rosewater.

The thick pudding is set in shallow earthen pots (called matkas or shikoras), chilled and sprinkled with nuts before serving. It is super delicious and absolutely delightful dessert to dig into. Phirni is very popular in North India especially- it is served in wedding menus as well as during festivals like Diwali .

Here is a recipe of bruleèd rice phirni recipe I shared last year.

My Mango Phirni Recipe

I grew up eating my badi mummy's (grandmother) phirni made with sooji(semolina). During summers, she mixed mangoes in her desserts. In fact, mango rice pudding or phirni mixed with fresh mango pulp used to be our summer breakfast on many days. She made phirni with ground rice as well but rice phirni was reserved mostly for special occasions when we had celebrations or guests over.

This mango phirni recipe is made using very few ingredients like fine semolina, whole milk, condensed milk(milkmaid), mango pulp and saffron. It is so luscious with texture of toasty semolina, creamy condensed milk and sweet mango pulp in every bite.

If you dont have fresh mango pulp, you can use canned pureed mango in this recipe. My favorite brand to used here in American stores is Deep Foods Kesar Mango Pulp.

I love sooji phirni, it has a great texture and there's something so comforting about the taste of roasted semolina that swells up after cooking in milk.

My recipe is :-

• Super Quick to make - Firstly, you don't have to grind rice and secondly semolina cookes much faster than rice.
• Less Effort- You simply pop open the semolina container, roast it and cook it in milk. How easy is that?
• Uses Few Ingredients - Just 4 ingredients + any flavor you like (I used saffron today)
• Perfect make ahead dessert- Once set, the taste stays good for 3-4 days. You can carry it for potlucks as well.
• Perfect for feeding to little kids - In our home, as soon as the baby starts eating solids, one of the first thing that is fed to them is sooji phirni. It is filling and since its fine ground semolina, its light on their tummies.
• Treat For Mango Lovers- If you and your family loves mangoes, this is sheer deliciousness!

Ingredients

• Mango Pulp - Choose ripe sweet seasonal mangoes if you are making this phirni during the summer months. For indian mango dessert recipes, here in US, I choose honey or Ataulfo mangoes because they are super sweet and arent fibrous. You can choose hapus, Kesar or Alphonso mangoes in India.
• Fine Semolina - For this recipe, use fine semolina. Coarse semolina won't give the right texture to this melt in the mouth pudding.
• Whole Milk - For a creamy phirni, full fat milk is the best choice.
• Condensed Milk - Besides taste condensed milk adds a wonderful smoothness to phirni due to its added fat content.
• Saffron- or any other flavor you like - green cardamom or rosewater or vanilla.

Hot To Make Mango Phirni

If you are using fresh mangoes, make a pulp by adding the mango slices to blender jar and grinding smooth. Strain if needed. Infuse saffron strands in warm milk and let stand.

Choose a heavy bottom pot or kadai for making phirni.

Mix in the saffron. Transfer the Phirni to a large bowl and cover the top with a a cling film to avoid skin formation. Bring to room temerature and chill. You can set in individual bowls, cover with aluminum foil.Chill for 6-8 hours. Serve with nuts.

How to achieve right consistency of phirini ?

Besides taste, consistency is one of the most important things to achieve when you are making phirni. I like super thick phirni however my husband prefers a smooth velvety one. Here in this recipe, both the condensed milk and mango pulp will thin out the phirni. The consistency depends on the cooking times as well. Lastly, do keep in mind that chilling contributes to thickening the phirni as well.

As you make it more and more, you will get a hang of cooking times. But I am adding few pointers below for guidance.

• For perfectly set thick phirni (that you can cut with a spoon)- This one is usually popular in wedding menus or served in restaurants. Cook the milk semolina mixture for 12-15 minutes until its quite dry before switching off the stove.
• Velvety & smooth Consistency phirni- Cook the semolina & milk mixture for 8-10 minutes until its thick and smooth and flows like ribbon when you drop it using a spoon from height.

Storing & Serving Mango Phirni

Phirni is best served chilled. Add chopped nuts, fresh fruits or edible silver or gold leaf for decorating.You can make phirni 2-3 days in advance.

For freezing, portion out the phirni and freeze for a week - ten days maximum.

Few Tips

• When you toast the semolina, do so on slow heat and dont let the color change else the color of the phirni won't be creamy milky. Dont worry, semolina won't taste raw since it will cook with milk.
• Keep stirring the milk continuously while it comes to boil as well as after you add semolina so avoid lumps.
• Adjust the quantity of condensed milk depending on how sweet your mangoes or canned mango pulp is.
• You can add a little grated khoya for a deluxe taste.
• Unlike kheer, dont mix in the nuts in the phirni. A few silvered nuts or a nut nut is sprinkled on top of phirni before serving.
• Avoid adding mango puree to hot phirni. Since mango is an acidic fruit, chances of curdling are high. Always switch off the stove, wait for 10-15 minutes to allow the phirni to cool down and then mix in the mango pulp.
• If you feel that the phirni is quite thickish, add a little bit of warm milk(2-4 tablespoons) to thin it out. If the phirni is little runny, adding few tablespoons of milk powder will fix it.

Variations

• Add sugar instead of condensed milk and cook the phirni a little extra to thicken. If you want to add jaggery, make a thickish phirni and then take it off the stove.Wait for a few minutes. Mix in the jaggery (chop it finely before adding).
• For vegan version, add cashew or almond milk slowly in parts and cook till the semolina swells up and the consistency is thickish. You can use coconut milk and coconut condensed milk as well if you like.