Kesar Pista Badaam Phirni

Ground almonds, chickpea flour and saffron cooked with milk and sugar

Who can imagine phirni without ground rice? Try our version of this Punjabi favourite with toasted besan and ground almonds and you will change your mind forever. Delicious, nutritious and quick, this is a wonderful dessert to whip up when you have a lot on the go.

2 tbsp coarse besan (chickpea flour), also known as ladoo besan 5 tbsp ground almonds 2 cups 2% milk 1/4 tsp saffron strands 5 tbsp sugar 6 green cardamoms, shelled and crushed 4 tsp slivered pistachios

Warm a heavy-bottomed non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add besan, stir occasionally until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add ground almonds, toast 1 minute.

Add milk, stirring gently to incorporate, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add saffron.

Increase heat to medium high and stir frequently 2 minutes until mixture thickens some more. Add sugar. Stir 3 minutes until consistency resembles custard. Turn off heat, fold in crushed cardamom. Pour phirni into 4 small individual dessert bowls.

Sprinkle slivered pistachios over top. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. Serve chilled.

Serves four