Rice Pudding Recipe

Rice pudding is considered holy food among the Hindus, since milk, clarified butter and rice are pure foods in Hindu religion. The rice pudding made among Hindus is called Payash or payasam or Kheer. However, the rice pudding made in Denmark or the United States is not too different from this. Call it the universal brotherhood of rice and milk, or just great taste. Both the recipes are given here.

Rice Pudding Recipe

100 grams short grained rice
1 liter milk
½ pod of vanilla
375 ml double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
100 grams chopped blanched almonds
Roasted almond flakes for decorating

Boil together the rice and milk with vanilla pod. Then lower the heat and let simmer for at least 45 minutes, till the milk is thickened and the rice is soft. Then remove from fire, take the vanilla pod out of the mixture and let it cool slightly. Then add sugar and stir well to dissolve. Also stir in the chopped almonds. When it is cool, add the double cream and mix well again.

Chill the pudding before serving, decorated with roasted almond flakes.

Traditionally in Denmark, this pudding is made with a single almond. When the pudding is served, the person who finds the almond in his or her portion gets the `almond prize', which is a pig made of marzipan (!).

Indian Rice Pudding Recipe (Kheer)

1 cup soaked short grained rice
1 liter full cream milk
4 tablespoons of milk, separately
100 grams jaggery (refined molasses)
(or 100 grams sugar)
1 tsp cashew nuts
1 tsp currants
1 tsp almonds split into two
2 cardamoms
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
3 strands of saffron
flaked pistachios for decorating

Bring the milk and rice to a boil. Add the cardamom seeds to the milk and simmer till milk is thickened and the rice is cooked through. In the meantime, heat the ghee in a small pan and slightly roast the cashew nuts, almonds and the raisins. When the milk is sufficiently thickened, add the dried fruits and if you are using sugar, add the sugar and stir well.

Remove from fire.

If jaggery is being used, it needs to be added only when the kheer cools down slightly, or else the milk will split. For that, warm separately three tablespoons of milk. Stir in the jaggery till it dissolves well. Add this mixture to the pudding and mix in well.

In another tablespoon of warm milk, add the saffron and let it stand, till the color of the saffron dissolves, making the milk a warm yellow in color. Add this milk with the saffron strands to the kheer mixture and mix this in too.

Cool down the pudding completely and serve decorated with flaked pistachios.

Fruit and Rice Pudding Recipe

For this tasty and healthy alternative, you need:

¾ cup short grained rice
4 cups skimmed milk
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup mixed dried fruits (figs, currants, prunes, apricots, nuts...)
¾ cup orange juice
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp grated orange rind

Boil the milk, rice and cinnamon stick together. Then lower the heat and let them cook till the milk is all evaporated, and there is no liquid in the pan. Remove from heat and take out the cinnamon stick.

In another pan put in the orange juice and dry fruits and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for about an hour till all the liquid evaporates and the dry fruits are tender. Remove from fire and cool.

When the milk and rice is slightly cooled, add the sugar and the lemon rind to it. Cool down completely.

Oil a 1.5 liter mold and tip the fruit into this. Flatten with a knife, then spoon over the rice pudding on the top. Again flatten completely. Set into the refrigerator till it is to be served. Unmold the pudding, so the fruit layer is at the top. Then cut out solid slices, it is a pretty sight, with a white pudding base and a fruity topping.