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Instant Ricotta Cheese Rabdi / Rabri

Rabdi or Rabri is a classic Indian dessert made by simmering whole milk until it thickens to a creamy consistency and flavored with aromatic cardamom and saffron, topped with nuts. In this recipe, we use Ricotta Cheese to make the process easy and faster. It’s delicious, creamy, Instant and delectable!

Rabdi in dutch oven and two cups with nuts and rose petals on top and chopped nuts in a bowl on the side.

Traditionally, Rabdi is anything but Instant. The classic rabdi takes hours and hours to simmer the milk to thicken. Its super simple to make but takes super long that it’s reserved for special occasions or festivals. But that’s what makes Rabdi super special. The sweet-smelling aroma of boiling milk with cardamom is so heavenly, we immediately know it is festival day at our house.

What is Rabdi/Rabri?

Rabdi is a mildly sweet milk-based dessert made by boiling or simmering the milk on low heat till it reduces to 1/3 of its original volume. It is lightly sweetened with sugar and infused with cardamom powder and saffron. Rabdi is usually topped with chopped nuts for that extra crunch. Rabdi is generally eaten as is or paired with Gulab jamun, Jalebi(The best combination ever!) or with Malpua.

Instant Rabdi in a cup with chopped nuts and dried rose petals on top.

What is Ricotta Cheese?

Ricotta cheese is a light and creamy fresh cheese made using milk. While the Wikipedia says that ricotta is made using cow or sheep or goat or water buffalo milk, I would like to firmly believe that the ricotta available to us in stores is made with cow milk. Let’s stick to this theory to make our lives easier, I would hate to think otherwise!

Ricotta means “recooked” in Italian, so this means that the leftover whey from making cheese is cooked again to make this beautiful, creamy and fluffy ricotta. It’s a fresh cheese and a little sweet tasting which works beautifully in this recipe.

Instant Rabdi in two cups with chopped nuts and dried rose petals on top and rose petals in a bowl.

How to make the instant ricotta cheese rabdi?

Oh this is the easiest thing ever! All you need is 3 main ingredients, flavor spices like cardamom, saffron and lots of nuts and the delicious rabdi is done in under 20 minutes.

  • In a heavy-bottomed pan (I love using an enameled Dutch oven, its thick and works great for this recipe), add a 15 oz container of Ricotta cheese and a can of sweetened condensed milk.
  • On a medium low heat, stir them together till they are well combined. Add milk and mix it in.
  • While stirring continuously, let the mixture come to boil. While the rabdi is thickening, crush the cardamom pods, discard the skin and grind the seeds into fine powder. Or make your life easier and get cardamom powder.. ha ha!
  • Add cardamom powder and saffron and let the mixture boil for 10-15 minutes. It will look little thin right now but I promise, it will thicken as it cools down.
  • Let it cool down completely and refrigerate it overnight.
  • Serve the chilled rabdi with some finely chopped nuts.
Process of making rabdi.

A few FAqs about Instant Ricotta Cheese Rabdi:

Why use ricotta cheese to make Rabdi?

Traditional way of making rabdi is tedious and lengthy. The milk is boiled on a slow flame for hours to reduce and become caramelized, creamy and thick. This ricotta method not only gives you delicious and creamy results but gets done in under 20 minutes.

What do we use the rabdi for?

I love to eat it as is with generous amount of nuts on top. You can pair the rabdi with jalebi, gulab jamun or Malpua.

How to store the Rabdi?

Rabdi keeps well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It will thicken as it cools down.
Instant Rabdi in a red dutch oven with chopped nuts and dried rose petals on top.

What Ricotta cheese should be used in this recipe?

I suggest using a whole milk Ricotta for a rich and creamy dessert. Skim milk ricotta can be used but the end result won’t be as creamy.

Yield: 10

Instant Ricotta Cheese Rabdi

Instant Rabdi in two cups with chopped nuts and dried rose petals on top.

Super easy 5 ingredient Instant rabdi made under 20 minutes

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Instructions

  1. In a heavy-bottomed pan, add a 15 oz container of Ricotta cheese and a can of sweetened condensed milk.
  2. On a medium low heat, stir them together till they are well combined. Add milk and mix it in.
  3. While stirring continuously, let the mixture come to boil.
  4. Add cardamom powder and saffron and let the mixture boil for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Let it cool down completely and refrigerate it overnight.
  6. Serve the chilled rabdi with some finely chopped nuts and rose petals.

Notes

A few things to remember:

  • Make sure to use only whole milk ricotta for this recipe.
  • Milk products stick to pan when cooking, using a heavy bottomed pan helps with that. Make sure to use a heavy bottom pan for best results.
  • The key to this Instant rabdi is to cook on medium-low heat and stir it continuously.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 367Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 158mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 0gSugar: 39gProtein: 13g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

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