http://mylifeinapyramid.com/2010/05/rice-pudding/Rice Pudding (Delicious Recipe from Eau de Spice)My Life in a Pyramid

“Rice is great when you’re hungry and want 2,000 of something.” :-D (That is actually a Mitch Hedberg joke that cracks me up every time!)

My grandma’s rice pudding is my brother’s favorite dessert. Or actually, it might be cheesecake. Either way, I know that it’s up there on his list. It’s probably one of my favorite desserts too! Rice pudding (called roz bil laban in Arabic) is a popular dessert in Egypt. A restaurant called Al-Malky in Cairo, which specializes in milky desserts, has actually established its brand around its legendary rice pudding, which is made with whole milk and topped with coconut, raisins, macadamia nuts, and a spoonful of fresh cream (eshta). I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve heard friends talk about how decadent it tastes!

Yesterday, I decided to make rice pudding (for the first time) and bring it alongside a mixed fruit platter to a potluck gathering as a dessert.  Although I love the simple traditional recipe that my grandma makes (rice + milk + sugar), I wanted a tangy, refreshing flavor to make it even more addicting! I was inspired by Brenda of Eau de Spice who posted a rice pudding recipe not too long ago that made my mouth water just reading it! She makes it with some interesting ingredients – cardamom and lemon & orange zest. The result was incredible – everyone loved it! Since I don’t make desserts frequently, Sherif was pleasantly surprised when he came home to find this recipe.

Here are the ingredients I used to make Citrus Cardamom Rice Pudding, with only slight variations from Brenda’s recipe (serves ~12-15 people – I made this for a potluck. There were about 10 of us, most of us had seconds, and about a third of it was still left over…)

• 2 cups arborio rice (This is the rice used for making risotto. This recipe specifically calls for using arborio because it’s more starchy than other types of rice, thereby eliminating the need for corn starch – another great tip from Eau de Spice!)
• 3 cups filtered water
• 5-6 cups of organic whole milk from grass-fed cows, preferably raw
• 1 cup of organic Rapadura sugar
• 2-3 cardamom seeds, crushed
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of raisins

*Her recipe calls for 1/2 tsp rose-water but since it’s an acquired taste (as mentioned in the Eau de Spice post), I decided to omit it – especially since I didn’t have it handy either… :-p

Directions (I followed these directions to the T. The difference: I added raisins and cinnamon and eliminated the rose water. And I added more milk after it was done cooking).

1. In a pot, add 1.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice on high heat (I made 2 cups or rice – so I used 3 cups of water).  As soon as it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low.
2. Leave to cook for about 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the 4 cups of milk, 1 cup of sugar, crushed cardamom seeds, lemon & orange zest (I used a mini grater to zest the peels), and cinnamon. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
4. Add the mixture to the rice, stir well, and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes until it thickens. Leave to cool.
5. Add 1-2 cups of cold milk until desired consistency is reached.
6. Add 1/2 cup of raisins and stir.
7. Leave in fridge to cool and serve cool. (It can also be served warm, but it’s so much better cool!)

And voilà… heavenly dessert! I love this version because of the refreshing citrus-y taste of the lemon and orange zest and the distinct flavor of cardamom.

I’m pretty much obsessed with these “Garden Bouquet” bowls I bought from Kohl’s the other day… They were for a great price too!

Hope you get to try this recipe! It’s absolutely delicious!