Rabri (Slow-Reduced Sweet Milk with Layers of Cream)
ربڑی
Rabri is milk turned into something luxurious by patience alone. Full-fat milk is simmered in a wide pan for over an hour, and each time a skin of cream forms on top, it's pushed to the side of the pan. At the end the layers of cream are stirred back in, giving rabri its thick, grainy, layered texture. Sweetened with sugar and cardamom and scattered with pistachios, it's eaten cold on its own, poured over jalebi or used to top falooda and kulfi.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 25 min
- Prep: 5 min
- Cook: 1 hr 20 min
- Medium
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Bring the milk to a boil in a wide, heavy or pan, stirring so it doesn't catch. Lower the heat so it simmers gently.
Simmer for 60–70 minutes without stirring the middle. Every few minutes, as a skin of cream forms, use a spatula to push it to the sides of the pan. Scrape the bottom occasionally so it doesn't burn.
When the milk has reduced to about a third, add the sugar, cardamom and saffron and simmer for 5 minutes. Scrape the cream from the sides back in and stir gently, keeping it layered.
Add the kewra, cool and chill. Serve cold, topped with nuts.
Kitchen notes
A wide pan reduces the milk faster and gives more cream skins, which is what makes rabri.
Add sugar only at the end; sugar added early makes the milk catch and darken.
Quick rabri: simmer 2 cups milk with ½ cup condensed milk and ¼ cup milk powder for 20 minutes. Smoother, but still good.
Patience in a pan
Rabri is one of the great milk sweets of North India and Pakistan, sold in clay pots at sweet shops in Lahore, Multan and Delhi. Like kheer and rasmalai, it depends on slowly reducing milk, a technique our guide to reducing milk explains in detail.
Why layers matter
What sets rabri apart is the lachha, the layers. Each skin of cream that forms on the simmering milk is pushed aside rather than stirred in. At the end, these layers are folded back into the thickened milk, giving the soft, grainy texture rabri is known for.
Uses
Rabri is a dessert on its own, served chilled in small bowls. It’s also used as a topping: spooned over hot jalebi, on kulfi and falooda, or layered into shahi tukray.
Serving
Serve chilled with slivered pistachios and almonds, perhaps a few strands of saffron, and a drop of kewra or rose water for fragrance.
Questions people ask
How is rabri different from kheer or basundi?
Kheer has rice. Basundi is reduced milk stirred smooth. Rabri keeps its layers of cream, so it's thicker and grainy.
How long does it keep?
Up to 3 days in the fridge in a covered container.
Can I use low-fat milk?
Not really. Rabri depends on the fat forming cream skins. Use full-fat cow or buffalo milk.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 330
- Protein
- 12 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
