Creamy Rice Pudding
 

Both Ian (my husband) and I hated the rice puddings we were fed as kids.  But both of us love this version.  It's so creamy without being rich.  I don't use an excessive amount of sugar but feel free to add a little more if you have a really sweet tooth.

 

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To convert any of these ingredients into US measurements please use this Quantity Conversion Chart.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup short grain rice
4 cups boiling water
1 and 1/2 cups skimmed milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup skimmed milk extra
1 dessertspoon butter
 

Method:

Cook rice in water in a heavy bottomed saucepan for 20 minutes, stirring frequently especially as it thickens. Don't have a lid on the pan or it will boil over.  Medium heat will be sufficient for cooking the rice.

Drain gluggy rice into a colander.  This will take a few minutes and it will still be quite gluggy after draining.

Tip the gluggy rice back into the pan along with 1 and 1/2 cups of milk, the sugar, salt and cinnamon. Bring back to a gentle boil.

Cook very gently over low-medium heat until mixture thickens up a little.  This will take about 10 minutes. Stir as much as possible to prevent the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan.

In a small bowl beat the egg, vanilla and extra milk.  Add a couple of tablespoons of the hot mix to the bowl and stir in.  Slowly tip the bowl contents into the saucepan stirring briskly.  Continue stirring for 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, stir in the butter until it has melted and combined thoroughly.

Creamy Rice Pudding can be eaten hot or cold and served with fruit if preferred.

Serves 6.
 

Notes:

Don't skip the part where a small amount of the hot mix gets added to the bowl.  If you try and tip the cold bowl contents into the hot pan the egg will very likely solidify as it hits the hot mix.
 

Food Facts:

Milk is often referred to as a complete food and is one of our most widely used ingredients. The main milks that we consume are cow's, goat's and sheep's milk.  Nowadays we have the option of using "milks" that are non-dairy such as soya, rice and oat milks.  Skim milk contains only half the calories of full fat milk but is nutritionally much the same.  Milk is an important source of calcium and phosphorous.  It also contains reasonable amounts of zinc and the B vitamins.  Cream has a very high fat content varying from 12% to 55% depending on the variety.  Consequently it should be eaten sparingly.  The bacteria that is in yoghurt  ensure that it is easily digestible.  It stimulates the good bacteria in our guts and suppresses the harmful bacteria.