Fig Rabdi Tart
My mom makes this Anjeer Rabdi that’s everyone’s favorite in my house.
I introduced B, my husband to it and instantly it was his favorite mithai that I often make.
I had this idea since many years to fill tart base with rabdi. When I saw some figs in the store, I had to try this out. Anyone who likes rabdi will love Anjeer rabdi. Anjeer is known as figs.
I love making tarts and pies. Initially, I wanted to try out making a pate sucree base, but I wanted to simplify the recipe. So, I decided to go with graham cracker crust. But, I bet both versions taste incredible. Talking about Rabdi. What is Rabdi?
Rabdi is nothing but whole milk, cooked for long time until it caramelizes and becomes thick with all the fat in the whole milk. It is literally taking a long time to cook it down. You start with double the quantity of milk and after its thickened its half in quantity. Its heavy, rich and creamy in taste and texture. Rabdi takes a long time to cook. Rabdi is flavored with cardamom and nuts. My mom makes a variation from the regular rabdi with the use of dried figs and dates. If you add both fruits, then you can actually not even need any sugar as they are naturally so sweet, or you might need less sugar.
Because rabdi take a long time to cook. I simplified that step and cheated a little bit by using condensed milk to speed up the process. There are lot of ingredients you can use to thicken it up faster. Lots of people use shredded paneer, corn starch, rice flour, etc. I used almond meal. It absorbs extra liquid and thickens it up too. Your rabdi should taste like caramelized milk, not like raw milk.
In terms of dried figs, you can use any variety that is good to you. I have used black mission figs and therefore you can see the color is dark. If you use light colored or any other variety of figs then the color of your rabdi would be different. Also, remember figs can vary in sweetness. The big reason I haven’t used any extra sugar, is one I have used condensed milk that has a lot of sugar and dried figs also have sweetness. Only sugar that I have used is for the mascarpone cheese. I would suggest you can start with 1 tbsp sugar and then add more if you like. I tend to like my desserts to be less sweet.
I used crème fraiche to top the tart, because I love the tartness it brings to balance the sweetness. But, if you like heavy whipping cream, go with it. Finally, it is garnished with pistachios.
Fig Rabdi Tart
Equipment
- 9" round tart pan or mini tart pans
Ingredients
Base of the tart
- 1 ½ cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 2 tbsp confectioner sugar
- 5 tbsp melted butter
Filling
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup condensed milk
- 2-3 tbsp almond meal
- 5-6 dried figs any variety
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese
- 2 tbsp sugar
Toppings
- 6-8 fresh figs
- 1 tbsp honey optional
- Pistachios
- Crème Fraiche or whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Properly wash and soak the dried figs in some water for few minutes to soften them up.
- Pre heat oven to 350F.
- Crush the graham crackers in a food processor until they are broken down into crumbs. Remove them in a bowl, add confectioner’s sugar and melted butter. Mix it well
- Dump all of it in the tart pan. Press it with the help of your hands or flat side of the bowl, covering the sides too.
- Bake it for 10 minutes or until browned a little bit. Remove it from the oven and leave it aside to cool down.
- Meanwhile, make the Rabdi.
- Blend the soaked figs with some milk or water in a blender. You can either completely blend it or leave some bite sized pieces.
- Take the remaining milk in a pot, simmer it for about 15 minutes on medium heat stirring in between continuously. Do not leave it or else it will burn on the bottom or boil over.
- Add the condensed milk and almond meal. Mix it well. Cook it for another few minutes. It will thicken up. Now, stir in fig paste. Turn off the heat. It should have thickened up, if not you will have to cook it little bit longer. Mine took 20 minutes.
- Let it completely cool down and then add mascarpone cheese and sugar. Use a whisk and mix it well.
- Take the graham cracker base of the tart, add the filling, spread it with a spatula and let it chill in the fridge for some time.
- Cut the fresh figs in half and using a brush, glaze them with honey. You can also cook honey with a little bit of water and add figs to it and glaze them. This step however is optional.
- When you are ready to serve, add some whipped cream or crème fraiche on top and add the fresh figs and chopped pistachios. Remove it from the tart pan. Serve it sliced.
Notes
Dried figs need to be cleaned really well with water as when you add the blended figs they can curdle the milk. I made them into mini tart pans, but the recipe can be made in an 8″ round tart pan. Did you try this recipe? Tag @pistachiodoughnut on Instagram and hashtag #pistachiodoughnutrecipes
XO, Devangi