Breed news
HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle varietyHistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgressionHealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areasShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of traditionShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next weekBreedsA Leap Forward in Indigenous Breeding: ICAR–IVRI’s Breakthrough in Producing Sahiwal Calves through Advanced Reproductive TechnologiesBreedsBoyd Beef Cattle to Donate 2027 Angus Foundation Heifer PackageBreedsU.P. State Fair dairy show highlights youth, dairy cattle and communityBreedsHereford Cattle Society wins landmark court case over breed statusHerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle varietyHistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgressionHealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areasShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of traditionShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next weekBreedsA Leap Forward in Indigenous Breeding: ICAR–IVRI’s Breakthrough in Producing Sahiwal Calves through Advanced Reproductive TechnologiesBreedsBoyd Beef Cattle to Donate 2027 Angus Foundation Heifer PackageBreedsU.P. State Fair dairy show highlights youth, dairy cattle and communityBreedsHereford Cattle Society wins landmark court case over breed status
EveryCow

Milk sweets

Rabri

Milk simmered slowly while its skins are lifted to the side, then sweetened into a thick dessert of creamy layers.

Rabri is a dessert of North India made by simmering milk in a wide pan for a long time. As each skin of cream forms on the surface, it is lifted and pushed to the cooler rim. When the milk has reduced, the layers are folded back in with sugar and cardamom. The result is thick and laced with soft ribbons of malai.

What goes in

Whole milk: 71%71%Sugar: 14%14%Cardamom and saffron: 7%Pistachio and almond: 7%4parts
  • Whole milk1071%, Reduced to about a third.
  • Sugar214%, Added near the end.
  • Cardamom and saffron17%, Fragrance.
  • Pistachio and almond17%, Slivered on top.

Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each input's share of the product.

Made step by step

Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house and herd to herd; this is one traditional way, in outline.

  1. Step 1: Boil Bring the milk to the boil in a wide, heavy pan and lower the heat.
  2. Step 2: Cook As each skin forms, lift it with a spoon and push it to the rim.
  3. Step 3: Cook Keep going until the milk has thickened well.
  4. Step 4: Cook Scrape the layers back in with sugar, cardamom and saffron.
  5. Step 5: Serve Chill and serve in clay cups, topped with nuts, or over hot jalebi.
  6. Whole milk: 71%71%Sugar: 14%14%Cardamom and saffron: 7%Pistachio and almond: 7%
    Finished Rabri, by share.

Patience in a pan

Rabri takes hours, which is why most families buy it from halwais who keep a pan going all day. Some cooks fan the surface to make the skins form faster. Cow milk gives a lighter rabri than buffalo milk. It is often flavoured with saffron and slivered pistachio, and served cold in clay cups that soak up a little of its moisture.

On the table

Rabri is eaten alone or poured over hot jalebi, malpua or gulab jamun, a contrast of warm and cold that is a festival favourite. In Varanasi and Mathura it is part of the morning and evening sweet trade. In Rajasthan a different, savoury rabri is a cooling drink of millet and buttermilk, a separate dish that shares the name.

Where it is used

With jalebiWith malpuaFestival dessert

The breeds behind it

HarianaThe common cow of the western Uttar Pradesh plains.GangatiriEastern Hariana, kept along the Ganga near Varanasi.RathiRajasthan milk breed.

Also part of it, and being written: Mewati cattle (Breed of the Braj and Mewat country.).

More on EveryCow

No breeds here yet. New pages are added every day.

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text and drawings by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and dairy makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven cattle breeds you may not know, the cattle days of the week ahead, and one product explained step by step.