Persian recipes and ingredients for everyday kitchens.

recipe

Fereni: Persian milk and rice-flour pudding with rosewater

A smooth Persian pudding made with milk, fine rice flour and rosewater. Start with cold milk, then stir through a gentle simmer for a simple warm or chilled dessert.

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Ingredients and method

Ingredients

  • 800 mL pasteurized whole milk (about 3 1/3 US cups plus 2 teaspoons)
  • 4 level tablespoons finely milled white rice flour (not dry whole rice grains, sweet glutinous rice flour or cooked rice)
  • 4 level tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon food-grade rosewater, with a few additional drops after cooking if desired
  • A small pinch ground culinary saffron, optional
  • Ground cinnamon to dust serving dishes, optional
  • 1 tablespoon chopped unsalted pistachios as an optional garnish; omit entirely for tree-nut allergies

Method

  1. In a heavy saucepan off the heat, combine rice flour and sugar. Whisk in a small splash of the measured cold milk to make a smooth paste, then gradually whisk in the rest. Do not taste the uncooked flour mixture.
  2. Heat over medium-low to medium heat, whisking continuously across the bottom and corners. Bring to a gentle boil with small bubbles breaking through the thickening mixture. Lower the heat as needed to prevent scorching or vigorous splashing.
  3. Stir in the rosewater and optional saffron. Maintain a gentle simmer and keep stirring for another two minutes, until smooth and spoon-coating. Follow any longer cooking directions on your rice-flour package. The pudding will firm further as it cools.
  4. Remove from the heat. Once a small spoonful has cooled safely, taste and add a few more drops of rosewater only if wanted. Divide the pudding among clean, shallow, heat-safe bowls.
  5. Serve warm after cooling enough to eat, or refrigerate the individual bowls promptly until chilled. Add optional cinnamon or pistachios at serving time. Keep uneaten pudding refrigerated.
Small bowls of smooth white rice-flour and milk pudding without toppings

Rice flour makes a different pudding

Fereni (فرنی, also ferni or firni) uses finely milled rice flour rather than whole grains. Choose ordinary white rice flour, not sweet glutinous rice flour. The 800 mL milk measurement controls this batch; the US cup amount is a close kitchen conversion.

This version uses Rozina Dinaa's smaller cold-mixed formula. Homa's Persian Mama recipe adds milk in stages and makes a much larger batch; those extra liquid quantities are not added here.

Sources: [1] [2]

Gentle heat, steady stirring

Disperse the flour before heating. Once the mixture is hot, sweep the whisk around the edges and base so the milk does not catch. Wait for small bubbles, then complete the final simmer; thickening alone is not an instruction to stop cooking.

Flour is a raw food. Do not taste the mixture before cooking, and follow the flour package's cooking guidance. Use culinary rosewater rather than cosmetic rose products; start with the small measured amount because aroma strength varies.

Sources: [1] [2] [4]

Warm or chilled

Fereni becomes firmer in the refrigerator. It contains milk; optional pistachios add tree nuts. The plain pudding needs no topping.

Refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below, within two hours of cooking or one hour above 90°F. Small shallow bowls cool more readily than one large pot.

Sources: [2] [3]

Research sources

  1. Rozina Dinaa — How To Make Fereni Persian Rice Flour, Rozina's Persian Kitchen (checked 2026-10-22)
  2. Homa — Fereni Persian Rice Custard, Persian Mama (checked 2026-10-22)
  3. U.S. FDA — Safe Food Handling (checked 2026-10-22)
  4. U.S. FDA — Flour Is a Raw Food and Other Safety Facts (checked 2026-10-22)