Firni Tart: Crazy experiments with Firni, Part 1
There are hardly any desserts in Kashmiri cuisine other than Firni (Fireen) and Halwa. As such, we can safely say that we don’t have quite a sweet tooth. But when it comes to Firni, I can never get bored of having some every day, especially during Ramadan. Like I mentioned in the previous post (WHAT I MISS ABOUT RAMADAN IN KASHMIR), at home, my mom made sure that not a single day during Ramadan went by without making us eat at least one “Fireen Riqaeb” post iftaar, no matter how full we were.
This Ramadan, Fireen was the subject matter of my experiments in the kitchen. I tried to incorporate some elements into my Firni to create fusion desserts. Firni Tart is the first in this series, that I am proud of “inventing”.
The classical, old recipe for Kashmiri Firni has never changed for good reason. However, who says one can’t craft weird yet delicious desserts by merging flavours here and there?
Firni Tart
Ingredients
Base
- 1 cup Medjool dates
- 1.5 cup almonds
- pinch sea salt
Firni
- ½ litre milk
- 3 tbsp semolina
- 4-6 green cardamoms
- 3 tbsp sugar/sweetener more or less, depending on taste
- pinch saffron optional
Instructions
Base
- Take the first three ingredients in a food processor and blitz until a sticky, crumbly mixture is formed. Lightly grease a tart tin and transfer the mixture into it. (I used a foil tin). Press until an even layer of crust is formed on the bottom and sides of the tin.Store in the freezer for two hours at least. After two hours, prepare basic Firni.
Firni
- Take milk in a saucepan and bring to boil. Add in green cardamoms and saffron (optional). Allow it to simmer for some time till the milk starts thickening. Stir continuously.
- Add in the semolina, little by little, stirring continuously. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until it thickens to your preferred consistency (thicker than regular firni). Keep stirring to avoid formation of lumps. Discard the green cardamoms
- Add in the sugar and cook for some more time, until it gets incorporated.
To assemble
- Gently pour the hot firni into the frozen crust. Garnish and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours, until the firni is set. Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for more coming up in this series of fusion desserts. Meanwhile, check out some of my savoury tarts/quiches like this one with an interesting crust and this one with chicken. Also, don’t miss out on this dessert: Apple Tarte Tatin.
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