Rabdi Recipe (Rabri)
Rabdi (Rabri) is a rich, slow-cooked North Indian dessert made by simmering full-fat milk until it reduces and thickens, forming creamy malai layers that are flavored with cardamom, saffron, and nuts. This traditional sweet is commony served during festivals, weddings, and special occasions across North India. Make it the traditional way with my easy recipe
If you are looking to make some more homemade Indian desserts, here are some of my other favorites: Bread Halwa, Kesar Elaichi Shrikhand, Makhana Kheer, and Basundi.
A Quick Look At This Rabdi Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Serves: 4
- Cuisine: North Indian
- Course: Dessert
- Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-Free
- Skill Level: Beginner–Intermediate
- Equipment: Heavy-Bottom Non-Stick Pan, Silicone Spatula, Knife (for nuts)
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Why You’ll Love This Family Favorite Recipe!
- Classic Indian dessert: Slow-reduced milk with layers of malai gives rabdi its signature richness.
- No fancy ingredients: Just milk, sugar, nuts, and flavorings — pure simplicity.
- Deep, authentic flavor: Slow cooking develops a caramelized, creamy taste you can’t rush.
- Perfect make-ahead dessert: Rabdi tastes even better after chilling.
- Versatile: Serve it on its own or pair it with jalebi, malpua, or gulab jamun.
Table of Contents
About Rabdi
Rabdi (Rabri) is a traditional North Indian sweet, which is evaporated sweet, thickened milk. It is popularly prepared during festivals and weddings.
It is also called laccha rabdi or lacchedar rabri, as the layers of milk fat (malai) collect on top of the milk as it cooks, forming lacchas (strings) that are added back to the pan, making the reduced milk chunky (lacchedar).
Rabdi is a creamy, thick-textured dessert that comes together in an hour using simple pantry ingredients – milk, sugar, saffron, cornstarch, and rose water.
To make rabdi, milk is added to a large, shallow pan and reduced for hours over a low flame. It caramelizes, taking on a lovely pinkish hue and a delicate taste from this process.
There are many instant variations of rabdi recipe that you can make. You can add condensed milk, ricotta cheese, milk powder, etc., to the recipe, but trust me; nothing compares to the one made by slow-cooking the milk.
In this post, I am sharing the authentic version I learned from my mom, who is an excellent cook. I have seen people relish her homemade rabri and always ask her for the recipe.
My recipe serves 4, but you can easily double or triple it. Keep in mind that cooking time will increase when the recipe is scaled.
What Is The Consistency Of Rabri?
Rabdi must be thick but pourable. It should be like a thick custard. Keep in mind that it will thicken more once cooled and refrigerated. If your rabdi has thickened significantly, add some milk and mix well.
Pro Tips By Neha
Making rabdi is a time-consuming process. You cannot fasten it beyond a point. So, making it while you are already in the kitchen doing something else is advisable. This way, you can keep doing your regular work, and the rabdi will keep thickening on the side, and it will not be an extra effort for you.
The key tip for making rabri is to find the right balance between leaving the milk alone so the malai layer forms and stirring enough to prevent it from sticking and burning on the bottom.
Do not leave the pan unattended. The milk burns quickly, and your entire effort will be wasted.
Rabdi thickens slightly as it cools. So keep that in mind.
Chill rabdi before eating; it tastes even more delicious this way. If it becomes too thick after refrigeration, add a little chilled milk and adjust the consistency.
Ingredients
This Indian dessert needs just five main ingredients: whole milk (full-fat milk), granulated white sugar, rose water, cornstarch, and saffron. You will get all these at an Indian grocery store.
For the best texture, use full-fat milk (whole milk), which will give rabri the creamiest consistency. Do not use skim or low-fat milk to make this dessert.
Full-fat buffalo milk is best for making rabdi, as its fat content is higher than that of cow’s milk. But if it’s unavailable, you can use cow’s milk too.
You can adjust the amount of sugar as per your taste. I like mildly sweet desserts, so I added sugar to my taste, but if you like sweeter rabdi, feel free to add more sugar.
Opt for high-quality saffron; it gives a beautiful yellow tinge and subtle flavor to the rabdi.
Do not miss my secret ingredient – rose water, which will instantly change the taste game of your delicious rabdi.
Traditionally, cornstarch is not added while making lachcha rabdi. However, to reduce cooking time, I learned this technique from a local sweetshop: add a little cornflour slurry to the milk once it is reduced to almost half. Trust me, you will not figure out any difference in taste, and the cooking time will be reduced to nearly half.
Garnish the ready rabdi with dry fruits and nuts, such as almonds, cashews, and pistachios. They give this otherwise soft, sweet dish a nice crunch and make it look nice. To make the rabdi even more indulgent, you can garnish it with some silver or gold foil.
You can also add a teaspoon of ground cardamom powder to flavor this easy rabri recipe.
How To Make Rabri
Step 1: Add 1 liter of whole milk (full-fat milk) to a wide, non-stick, heavy-bottom pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently using a silicon spatula to prevent scorching at the bottom of the pan.
Note: Try using a wide pan to speed up the cooking process.
Step 2: Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium.
Step 3: Add 1 pinch of saffron strands to the pan and stir to combine.
Step 4: Let the milk simmer undisturbed for 1-2 minutes, or until a thin layer of malai (milk fat) forms on the surface.
Step 5: Using a spatula, move the layer of malai to the side of the pan or mix it back with the milk.
Scrape the sides of the pan at regular intervals, then keep adding the milk solids back into the pan.
Keep scraping the bottom of the pan at regular intervals to avoid scorching.
Cook similarly (that is, undisturbed for 1-2 minutes and mix the fat layer back) until the milk is reduced to more than half (30-35 minutes).
Step 6: Now mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour) with 3 tablespoon water and make a slurry.
Step 7: Add the slurry to the pan and cook until the rabdi thickens (4-5 minutes), stirring frequently.
Step 8: Add 3 tablespoon granulated white sugar and ¼ teaspoon rose water, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Step 9: Pour the ready rabri into earthen pots for more flavor or transfer to a regular serving bowl.
Step 10: Garnish with almond and pistachio slivers and dried rose petals. You can soak saffron strands in water for 3-4 hours, then pour the saffron-soaked water over the rabdi to make it look even more indulgent. Silver or gold foil can also be used as a garnish.
Step 11: Either serve hot or chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
Rabdi FAQs
Both basundi and rabri are made by reducing the milk. The only difference is in the consistency of both these desserts. While basundi is slightly thinner, rabdi is thicker. Basundi is creamier, while rabdi has chunks of malai.
Rabri will last 3-4 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. Bring the cooked rabdi to room temperature and then transfer it to a container. Make sure to use a clean, dry spoon every time you take rabdi out of the container, and close the lid tightly after each use.
Whenever I make rabdi, I make a big batch. I use some of it instantly and freeze the remaining in small containers.
Rabdi freezes very well for up to2 months. Just transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze it for later use. Whenever you are ready to use, either keep it on the counter for2-3 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
Variations
You can make variations of rabdi like sitafal rabdi, anjeer rabdi, angoor rabdi, etc., by adding fruit purees to the finished rabdi.
I love mango rabri (aam ki rabdi) made using fresh mango puree when mangoes are in season.
Serving Suggestions
You can eat rabdi alone for dessert or pair it with warm Gulab Jamuns, Shahi Tukda, Imarti, Jalebi, or Malpua.
Make it for the festive season, special occasions, or for the guests at home.
Other Indian Desserts We Recommend
Indian Sweets & desserts
Maharashtrian Puran Poli Sweet
Indian Sweets & desserts
Moong Dal Halwa
Indian Sweets & desserts
Sooji Halwa Recipe
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Rabdi Recipe (Rabri)
Ingredients
- 1 liter whole milk (full-fat milk)
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour)
- 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon rose water
Instructions
- Add milk to a broad, heavy-bottomed nonstick pan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently using a silicone spatula to prevent scorching at the bottom of the pan.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium.
- Add saffron strands to the pan and give it a mix.
- Let the milk simmer undisturbed for 1-2 minutes or until a thin layer of malai (milk fat) forms on the surface.
- Using a spatula, move the layer of malai to the side of the pan or mix it back with the milk.
- Scrape the sides of the pan at regular intervals, then keep adding the solidified milk back to the pan.
- Keep scraping the bottom of the pan at regular intervals to avoid scorching.
- Cook similarly (that is, undisturbed for 1-2 minutes, then mix the fat layer back) until the milk is reduced to more than half (30-35 minutes).
- Now mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water and make a slurry.
- Add the slurry to the pan and cook until the rabdi thickens (4-5 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Add sugar and rose water, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour the ready rabri into earthen pots for more flavor, or transfer it to a regular serving bowl.
- Garnish with almond and pistachio slivers and dried rose petals. You can soak saffron strands in water for 3-4 hours and pour the saffron-soaked water over the rabdi to make it look even more indulgent. Silver or gold foil can also be used as a garnish.
- Either serve hot or chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
your recipes are always delicious and perfect,so is this 💯
Thanks Suruchi 🙂
excellent 👍