Is Eid the best time to make Phirni? Certainly not! Any time is a good time for this luscious and comforting rice dessert. I’ve saved a whole heap of time making it with my new Instant Pot that would have been spent watching and stirring a simmering milk pot making sure it does not burn.

I’m loving this new addition to my kitchen and Phirni is only the start of the desserts that I’ll be making with it. I picked up mine from @homewarestore and made sure I did not linger there for too long. The prettiness is too tempting and I would have blown my budget shopping for my Eid table.

What dessert are you making for Eid this year?

Instant Pot Phirni

Ingredients
1/3 cup basmati rice
3 cups milk
1 large tin Nestlé Cream plus same tin filled with water
1/3 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tin condensed milk
a pinch of saffron soaked in 2 Tbsp warm milk
chopped almonds or pistachios for topping off (optional)

Grind the rice coarsely in a spice grinder. Don’t make it too fine. You don’t want powder. Select the Sauté setting on the Instant Pot.

Once the Instant Pot turns to Hot, add milk, cardamom and Nestlé cream. Fill the Nestlé cream tin with water and add it too. Bring to a simmer, stirring often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom (8-10 min). Add the rice and stir to mix.

Cancel Sauté and close the lid to seal. Select the Porridge setting, with a timer set for 20 minutes on High Pressure. When the timer is up, allow the pressure to naturally release ( about 20 minutes). You can manually release the pressure as well. Just watch out in case there’s sputtering. If you find there’s some scorching at the bottom of the pot, don’t scrape the bottom of the pot too heavily when stirring. Just stir lightly to mix.

Press Cancel to turn off the Instant Pot and remove the lid. Select the Sauté setting on low. Stir in the condensed milk and soaked saffron. Sauté, stirring constantly until the mixture reduces down slightly to your preferred thickness. Cancel Sauté function.

Pour into small serving bowls and refrigerate or serve warm if preferred. The mixture thickens upon standing and will thicken even more in the fridge. Enjoy.

Note: This can also be made on the stove. Your cooking time when adding the rice will just be longer and you have to stir and watch so it does not burn. Keep your heat low to medium.