Thursday, August 11, 2011

Easy Rice Pudding

When I was a child my mother made the most awesome and wonderful rice pudding and bread pudding. The older I get the more I grow nostalgic for these foods and for the memories of the smells of mom's cooking as I'd walk into the house after a long day of school. Over time, I am learning some of her repetoire but I never really asked her how to make the two puddings. She couldn't recollect the recipes now so I will try to find some that will work.

I precooked a lot of brown rice for yesterday's dinner (featured in yesterday's post) and  thought now would be a good time to try making some rice pudding.  I made this recipe found on Allrecipes.com, with modifications as noted.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup uncooked white rice  (I used left over brown cooked rice)
  • 2 cups milk, divided  (I used evaporated milk)
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2/3 cup golden raisins  ( I used dark raisins)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. I cooked my rice about 10 minutes longer because the brown rice is not as fluffy as the white (though it looks fluffy when cooked). I kept stirring so that the milk didn't burn the bottom of the pot. 
  3.  Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm. 



Tip: If you use evaporated milk like I did, don't forget to reduce the sugar otherwise it may be too sweet!  You could also use Splenda.  I cooked the mixture a little longer to soften the rice as much as possible. Brown rice will be crunchier than white rice. Nonetheless it was a creamy pudding with a bit of crunch and not bad at all. I sprinkled cinnamon spice on the finished product but you could also stir it in the pudding while cooking.


While this is not my like my mom's rice pudding, it is pretty good!


I will be travelling for a family funeral so I apologize in advance if you visit  my blog and I cannot comment right away. I may have one or two pre-scheduled blog posts if I have enough time.

11 comments:

Icy BC said...

This sounds great and easy enough for me since I'm terrible at cooking.

Joyful said...

Yes it is quite easy so give it a try and let me know how you like it! Thanks for visitng :-)

Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

I love rice pudding and will be trying this. Thanks.

Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

One question ; when does one add the beaten egg?

Joyful said...

Hello Heidi, I do hope you get to try it.

You add the beaten egg and the raisins in the last few minutes before you finish cooking the rice. So you will have to gauge not to add the egg and raisins while the rice mixture is too "liquidy". Wait till it has a bit of volume and this will vary depending on whether you use white rice or brown. I would say at least 20 minutes of cooking the rice mixture first. I hope that helps. Let me know how it turns out.

Roan said...

This sounds really good. I think the brown rice would be a healthier option.

Joyful said...

I agree Roan. I seldom eat white rice anymore. I like the "nutty" flavour of the brown rice in addition to its health benefits.

Jo said...

Hi Penny, I've been "threatening" to make rice pudding for a few weeks already. It's not Grant's favourite so I've made other desserts. With the idea of using brown rice, I'll make small ramekins for myself. I imagine they freeze well. Take care on your trip. Blessings. Jo

Fred Alton said...

I like rice pudding. I LOVE banana pudding! ☻ And when you make that, or any other pudding for me - it can't be too sweet. Memory took me to Methodist Guest House in Nairobi and several eating places in Kenya where the rice pudding was good!

WebbieLady said...

i love rice-based delicacies... we had it in the philippines...can't find them hee in europe...;-(

Yes, condensed milk is so useful when one wants more than average sweetness...

Lydia said...

Oh gosh this looks so delicious. I am definitely putting this on my to-make list

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