rice pudding

What happens when you're craving something sweet while watching Anthony Bourdain travel around India? You start googling saffron rice pudding recipes.

I found a few recipes that I liked (this one, this one and this one) but since I'm still working off of what I have in my pantry, I couldn't follow any of them exactly but instead used the ingredients and techniques as inspiration.

I had plenty of sliced almonds and a bag of purple raisins that I've been desperate to get rid of. So, instead of the more traditionally Indian golden raisins, I used boring old American style purple raisins. I wasn't disappointed after tasting it, though. Also, to my dismay, I realized that I did not have cardamom like I thought I did. Instead I went with a blend of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Again, that's more like an American style rice pudding but I'm trying to use only what I've got. I liked the technique of toasting the nuts, raisins and rice in the butter (or ghee) before adding the milk so I did that with mine. I also loved the idea of adding a bay leaf so I threw one in there. It was good.

I had some jasmine rice on had so I used that for a little extra subtle flavor. YUM. I will always be using jasmine rice for rice pudding from now on.





Total Recipe cost: $2.74
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $0.69
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 45 min. Total: 50 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 Tbsp	butter	$0.05
1/4 cup	sliced almonds	$0.16
1/4 cup	raisins	$0.56
1/2 cup	jasmine rice	$0.44
4 cups	milk	$1.30
1/2 tsp	cinnamon	$0.05
1/4 tsp	nutmeg	$0.05
1/4 tsp	vanilla extract	$0.07
1 whole	bay leaf	$0.02
1/4 cup	sugar	$0.04
TOTAL		$2.74

STEP 1: Saute the almonds and raisins in butter over medium heat for one minute. Add the dry rice and saute for 1-2 minutes more or until it looks slightly golden and toasted. Watch the heat carefully, if the butter or sugar from the raisins begins to burn take it off of the heat immediately.

STEP 2: Add the milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and bay leaf to the pot. Using a whisk stir it well so there are no clumps. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium/high heat while stirring often with a whisk. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium/low and let it continue to simmer until thickened (30-40 min). Stir often with a whisk to prevent caking and burning on the bottom.

STEP 3: After 30-40 minutes the rice should be soft and the mixture should be thick and creamy. Serve hot or cold.

Step By Step Photos

Heat the butter in a large pot and add the raisins and almonds.


Continually stir the almonds and raisins until they are toasted (1 min). The sugars from the raisins can burn so be careful. Add the raisins later when adding the milk if you're afraid of burning them.


Add the rice and stir it for 1-2 minutes more or until it looks slightly toasted and transparent.


Add the milk...


And the sugar and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and bay leaf).


Bring the mixture to a boil over medium/high heat. Stir with the whisk often to prevent it from caking and burning on the bottom of the pan.


Once it reaches a boil reduce the heat to medium/low and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes or until thickened. Stir it often during this time.


Then, like magic, it's thick and yummy. It will get even thicker as it cools.