Make this popular North Indian dessert, rabdi or rabri prepared with milk which will bring back memories of your childhood years. It is easy, delicious, and needs very few basic ingredients. Here is how to make it.
If you are looking to make some more homemade Indian desserts, then here are some of my other favorites – Malpua, Shrikhand, Makhane Ki Kheer, Peda, Basundi, Mango Burfi, Gulab Jamun, Balushahi, and Til Mawa Ladoo.
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About This Recipe
Rabdi or rabri is a popular North Indian sweet, which is basically evaporated sweet thickened milk. It is popularly prepared during festivals and weddings
Rabdi is a creamy and thick textured dessert, which needs basic pantry ingredients – milk, sugar, saffron, cornstarch, and rose water.
In this irresistible sweet recipe, milk is cooked until it is reduced on low flame and reached a thick and creamy consistency. It is flavored with saffron, which adds a beautiful yellow tinge making it look even more appealing.
Rabdi gets even more flavourful with the addition of rose water, which is a secret ingredient, and instantly changes the flavor and aroma of this sweet. So, do not miss this! Lastly, it is garnished with slivered dry fruits, which adds a great crunch when you take a bite of this velvety rabri.
It is very easy to prepare but takes a bit more time to get ready. It needs monitoring and patience, so do not hurry if you want to make perfect rabdi. So this festival, get the ingredients ready and make this irresistible sweet at home.
This rabdi is,
- Creamy
- Easy to make
- Lip Smacking
- Made with 5 ingredients
- Better than the store bought ones
Ingredients
This Indian dessert needs just 5 ingredients – milk, sugar, rose water, cornstarch and saffron.
For the best texture, use full cream milk (whole milk) that will give the creamiest consistency to rabri. You can opt for skim milk or low-fat milk, but the texture won’t be the same.
You can adjust the amount of sugar, as per your taste.
Opt for a high quality saffron, which will add a beautiful yellow tinge along with subtle flavour.
Do not miss my secret ingredient – rose water, which will instantly change the taste game of your rabri. You can make rose water at home or get edible rose water from the grocery store.
Traditionally cornstarch is not added while making rabdi and the milk is reduced until it is very thick and creamy. However, to reduce the time to cook a bit, I learned this technique from a local sweetshop to 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 almost half.
Lastly, garnish it with nuts such as almond, cashews, pistachios etc.
How to make Rabdi?
Add 1 liter full fat milk to a heavy bottom non stick pan and bring it to a boil. Try to use a wide pan for fastening the cooking process.
Add 1 pinch of saffron strands to the pan and give it a mix.
Lower the heat to medium and keep stirring the milk and scraping the sides of the pan. Keep mixing the fat layer in the milk. Cook the milk for 40-60 minutes, until it is reduced to half.
Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour) with 3 tablespoon water and make a slurry. Add the slurry to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes until the rabdi thickens. Add 3 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon rose water, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Pour rabri in earthen pots for more flavor or else just transfer in a serving bowl. Garnish with almond and pistachio slivers. Either serve hot or chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
Basundi V/S Rabri
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 in consistency. Basundi is creamier while rabdi has chunks of malai.
Pro Tips By Neha
Making rabri is a time taking process. You just cannot fasten it beyond a point. So it’s advisable to make it while you are already in the kitchen doing something else. 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. You will just have to stir it after 10-12 minutes and it will be ready once you are done with your other work.
Garnish it with slivered dry fruits at the end, to add a nice crunch in the creamy rabdi.
Double, triple or half this recipe according to your requirements.
Rabdi is one of those sweets that thickens after it cools down. So keep that in mind when reducing the milk.
Chill rabdi before eating, it tastes even more delicious this way. In case, it becomes too thick after refrigerating, add a little chilled milk and adjust the consistency.
Serving Suggestions
You can eat rabdi on its own for desserts or pair it with Gulab Jamun, Shahi Tukda, Imarti, Jalebi, or Malpua. Include this creamy dessert in your festive meals, and I am sure your guests will love every bite of it.
Storage Suggestion
Rabdi will last in the fridge for about 3 days when stored in an air-tight container. Use a clean and dry spoon every time you take out rabdi from the container and close the lid tightly after every use.
You can make a big batch, eat some on its own and freeze the remaining, and use it whenever you want to pair it with something. Rabdi freeze very well for up to 2 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 for 2-3 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
Variations
You can make variations of rabdi like sitafal rabdi, anjeer rabdi, angoor rabdi, etc by adding fruits purees to the finished rabdi.
I love mango rabri too when mangoes are in season.
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Recipe Card
Rabdi Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 liter full fat milk
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon rose water
Instructions
- Add 1-liter full-fat milk to a heavy bottom non-stick pan and bring it to a boil. Try to use a wide pan for fastening the cooking process.
- Add1 pinch of saffron strands to the pan and give it a mix.
- Lower the heat to medium and keep stirring the milk and scraping the sides of the pan. Keep mixing the fat layer in the milk. Cook the milk for 40-60 minutes, until it is reduced to half.
- Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour) with 3 tablespoon water and make a slurry. Add the slurry to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes until the rabdi thickens. Add 3 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon rose water, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Pour rabri in earthen pots for more flavor or else just transfer in a serving bowl. Garnish with almond and pistachio slivers. Either serve hot or chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
