Servings: 8

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • ½ gallon whole milk
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3-4 tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2-4 drops rosewater
  • ground pistachios and almonds for garnish

Step 1

Place the milk, half and half and sugar in a pot and put on medium heat, stirring occasionally, taking care not to let it brown on the bottom of the pot.

Step 2

Place 1 cup of milk in a blender and add the egg, cornstarch and rosewater. Blend until all the ingredients are mixed well.

Step 3

Once the milk and half and half have boiled, add the cornstarch mixture and mix well.

Step 4

Decrease the heat to low and continue to stir constantly until the mixture thickens (about 10 to 15 min.). Do not let it brown on the bottom of the pot.

Step 5

Pour mixture into either a Pyrex pie plate or round baking dish. Let it cool down.

Step 6

Garnish with ground pistachio and almonds.

Step 7

Refrigerate for about an hour and serve cold.

Chef's Note:

Firney is a must-have dessert for any Afghani dinner party. This dish requires a lot of TLC. It must not burn on the bottom which means it must be stirred constantly; if it does burn, then the burnt taste and smell will ruin the dish. It also needs to cook properly to be rich and thick. If not cooked long enough, the Firney will be thin and runny and not very tasty. I have made Firney with honey instead of sugar and it came out just as tasty. To make this dish healthier, one can use milk instead of half and half.