Pheni

This is one of the desserts that I love and had been planning to prepare it ever since I started this blog. Pheni is a specialty dessert from the state of Karnataka,India.  No wedding / festive occasion is complete without this sweet dish…
 

Almost all households in Karnataka have their ‘secret’ recipe that is a sure hit. Here is mine 🙂

A special type of rawa / cream of wheat is used for this. It is called chirotti / bhansi / Pheni rave.This is finer in texture when compared to the regular rava. In case this variety is not available, you can use the regular rava that is used to prepare upma. Roast the rava and give it a shot in the mixie.But remember that it should not become powdery.

I used :

Maida / All purpose flour – 1 cup
Chirotti / Bhansi / pheni rave – 1/4 cup
Salt- a pinch
Butter – 1 teaspoon, at room temperature

Make a paste of

Rice flour – 2-3 tablespoons
Ghee

Ghee for frying

To serve

Milk
Saffron- a large pinch
Cardamom powder
Almonds- chopped
Powdered sugar

1. Take the maida, chirotti rave,salt, butter in a bowl. Add water little by little to make a soft dough.Cover and keep aside for at least half an hour.
2. Divide the dough into small balls.
3. Roll them out like poori’s
4. Place one poori on a flat surface.Smear the rice paste on one side. Keep another poori over it and again apply rice paste. Repeat upto 5-6 pooris.
5. Start rolling all the pooris together from one side, till you get a roll.
6. Cut this roll at equal intervals.
7. Gently press each piece and roll out into poori’s[pheni]. You can see concentric circles in each poori.
8. Heat ghee for frying on medium heat. I should not get smoky.
9. Drop each pheni into the ghee and fry till light brown. The poori should not turn dark brown,so lower the heat if needed.
10. Drain and keep aside.Repeat for all the pieces cut from the roll.
11. Dissolve the saffron in a little warm milk.
12. Heat milk and add the saffron and cardamom,.Simmer for 10 minutes.
13. Add nuts and remove from flame.

To serve:

In a serving dish keep a pheni .Sprinkle a generous helping of sugar and top it with badam milk.Serve immediately.

If you are planning to serve this in a party, keep the pheni sprinkled with powdered sugar and the badam milk separately. Let the guests help themselves 🙂

Note:

• Usually pheni  is fried in ghee. You can use any other oil as well.
• While planning to serve this for a large crowd,you can prepare and store the fried pheni in an air tight container.The next day just prepare the badam milk and it is ready to serve.

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