Lachha Rabri is an exquisite Indian dessert made with only 2 main ingredients. Using a special technique, this thickened and sweetened milk has layers of lachha or malai giving it its distinct flavour and texture.

Creamy Lachha Rabdi

What is Lachedar or Lachha Rabri

Laccha is the name for the malai or skin that forms when full-fat milk is boiled. A large quantity of milk is gently reduced and sweetened until it reaches an almost condensed milk consistency and can then be flavoured how you desire.

If the rabdi is to be served with other sweets, it is kept plain.

If it is to be eaten alone can be flavoured with saffron, rose water, or nuts.

We love to add Kesar to our rabdi and make Kesar Lachha Rabdi which is an even richer alternative with a beautiful golden hue.

serving suggestion for rabdi, an indian milk dessert

When to serve Rabri

Malpua with Rabri is a match made in heaven! You will most often see these two served together.

Rabri and Jalebi also goes wonderfully. I remember visiting Rajasthan during my first ever India trip a few years ago and I could see queues of people in the morning waiting for their jalebi and rabri before work!

Shahi Tukda is also a delicious dessert with fried bread and rabri.

Rabri, of course, can be enjoyed on its own too and makes the perfect dessert after a spicy meal composed of Restaurant Style Garlic and Coriander Naan, Indian Vegetable Curry and Sultani Daal

Serve the rabdi chilled!

Why add cream in Rabri

We add cream in our rabri as the full-fat milk in the UK is a lower fat percentage than that found in other countries. You do not have to add cream to yours if you do not wish.

Tips for the best Rabri

There are no shortcuts to achieving the best Rabdi - time and patience will definitely be rewarded with this dessert!

Here are some tips to make Indian sweet shop or halwai style rabri:

A tip that my Mum taught me for separating the malai from the milk is to use little wooden skewers to collect the malai - technique is shown further in the recipe video. This is particularly useful if you have a pan that doesn't have sloping sides where you can keep pushing and collecting the malai to the side.

Make sure to keep scraping to the bottom of the pan otherwise the milk will start to burn and stick.

Keep an eye on the heat - you can keep it on high at first to heat the milk, then as it comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium.

A trick that I found helps with getting the malai or lachha to form faster is to keep a desk fan angled on the milk as it boils.

If the milk does begin to burn, you can still salvage the rabri. Do not throw away but instead siphon off the milk that has not burnt and transfer to another pan to carry on cooking. If the milk does have a burnt taste, add some essense or flavouring such as saffron or rose to disguise it.

The rabdi will change colour and go creamy white rather than pure white - this is normal!

We're looking for the milk to reduce between ⅓ and ¼ for the best rabri. Remember that the mixture will thicken on cooling so it may still seem a little runny when you turn off the heat.

Why use a thick bottom pan

Heavy bottom pans absorb and distribute heat much better than thin pans. This reduces the chance of burning and sticking.It is imperative when making Indian mithai or sweets to use a thick-bottom or heavy bottom pan. This is because ingredients such as milk tend to be cooked for a long time.

Storage

Rabri can be easily made in advance. It can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for upto ¾ days. Keep away from any strong smells in the fridge.

Ingredients for Rabri:

(exact measurements are provided in the printable recipe card below)

Whole milk

Sugar - use white granulated sugar

Cardamom powder

Optional: single or double cream

You will need:

A heavy-bottomed non-stick pan

Time, time, and time!

Method:

Before pouring the milk in the pan rinse it with cold water, and do not dry (pic 1)

Bring it to boil on medium heat, then lower the heat and keep stirring the milk (pic 2)

Once the Malai (milk skin) starts forming over the milk, gently lift and collect on the bamboo skewer (pic 3)

When the milk reduces to ⅓ 0r ¼ add cream (optional) and sugar, mix and cook further. Then add cardamom powder and turn off the heat (pic 4)

Rabri will get thick once it starts cool down.

Other milk-based Indian desserts:

Quick Seviyan Kheer

Shahi Mango Paneer Kheer

1 minute Instant Pot Sheer Khurma

Instant Pot Doodh Poha Kheer

If you are looking for more Indian Sweets inspiration - look no further than our 19 Best Barfi Peda Recipes

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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📖 Recipe

LACHHA RABDI

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Treat your loved ones to this rich and creamy Indian milk dessert, Lachha Rabdi. It is made from just 2 easy ingredients but the end result is phenomenal!

Course Desserts

Cuisine Indian

Cook Time 20

Total Time 20

Servings

Author Hayley Dhanecha

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

2 ltr. whole milk
200 ml double cream
100 g sugar
Big pinch cardamom powder
2-3 tbsp. slivered nuts
Dried rose petals
Silver foil

Instructions

First, rinse the heavy-based pan or kadai with cold water.
Pour the milk into the pan and bring it to boil on medium heat.
Lower the heat and let the milk simmer but keep stirring.
Take a clean bamboo skewer and rest it on the pan.
Now keep collecting the milk skin on the skewer.
Keep repeating this step whilst stirring the milk.
Once the milk reduced to ⅓ add cream and cook the mixture further 5 minutes.
Then add sugar and collected malai in the reduced milk.
Combine everything, cook the rabdi further for 5 minutes.
Add cardamom powder, turn off the heat and let the rabdi cooldown.
Garnish it with slivered nuts, rose petals and edible foil if using.

Video

Notes

If the milk has a higher fat, you may skip the cream.
Don't have bamboo skewer? just very carefully with the spoon push the sides of the layer of the pan.

Nutrition

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

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