After reading a recent Serious Eats article on rice pudding, I decided it was high time I made some of my own. I found an Alton Brown recipe for Indian rice pudding online, appealing because he calls for coconut milk and I had a can in my cupboard. (He also calls for cardamom, whole milk, heavy cream, and pistachios, none of which I had, so I omitted those and also changed the proportions a little bit). On a cloudy night, it was incredibly soothing to stir the simmering mixture of rice, milk, and coconut milk, not to mention easy.
The result was deeply satisfying, with a luxurious but not overpowering richness and nice bursts of sweetness from the golden raisins. I brought a portion to work yesterday and enjoyed creamy spoonful after spoonful while reading a paper. In the evening, not feeling like a real dinner, I had some more pudding with a sliced Bosc pear and a cup of lemon-ginger tea.
"Indian" rice pudding, adapted from Alton Brown
1.25 cups cooked rice (I used long-grain)
1 cup skim milk
1 cup coconut milk
Cinnamon and ginger powder to taste
Golden raisins, cut into small pieces if necessary
In a large saute pan, heat rice and skim milk until the mixture starts to boil, then reduce heat and cook for about 5 min, when mixture has started to thicken. Add coconut milk, cinnamon and ginger; increase heat and allow to simmer until pudding has again thickened, 5-10 min. Let cool (pudding will thicken even more). Add raisins. Refrigerate.
