Rice pudding tips?

I took my first stab at rice pudding the other day but was a little disappointed. Too chewy. And I cooked it for much longer than the 40 minutes called for in "How to Cook Everything." Was it hopelessly naive of me to use brown basmati rice? (Recipe called for long- or short-grain, did not specify brown or white.) Did I perhaps not cook long enough in water before adding milk?

What I really love is the super-creamy Indian rice pudding. Anyone have a recipe for that?

I welcome your suggestions.

Too chewy. And I cooked it for much longer than the 40 minutes called for in "How to Cook Everything.

Why did you cook it longer than the 40 minutes? It is potentially possible you overcooked it. Some foods don't always look right when they are finished cooking. They need the cooling to really finish the product.

Regards,

Good point. I wasn't quite clear about that. The estimated prep time was listed as 40 minutes, but the instructions said "cook until the rice is soft and most of the milk is absorbed."

But it never really got soft (not as soft as it would if I had cooked it as plain rice) and while the amount of milk reduced, I think it was just cooking off rather than absorbing. It was as though the rice just quit.

I have made rice pudding with steamed rice left over from Chinese take-out with great results. I think there was a recipe in the New York Times magazine about a year ago, but any recipe would work as long as you adjust the cooking time appropriately.

Brown rice will not get soft you need to use white rice. The Indian rice pudding is either Kheer or Kulfi, I forget which (the other is ice cream).

Honey and Salt,

You might want to give this recipe a try. The whole spices elevate this to something quite nice.

Ingredients:

3.5 C milk
1/2 C sugar, divided
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 C long grain rice
2 egg yolks
1/2 C heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 green cardamon pods
freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 C golden raisins
2 TBSP unsalted butter, softened (optional)

1. In an enameled or stainless steel pan, heat the milk, half of the sugar, cinnamon stick and cardamon pods just to a boil. Stir in the rice and reduce the heat to low.

2. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes (I like the rice a little beyond done here. Al dente doesn't work for rice pudding.) Add golden raisins for the last ten minutes.

3. Whisk together yolks, cream, the remaining half of the sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Stir this mixture into the simmering rice, bring back up to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly for two minutes. Stir in the softened butter for added richness, just in case the cream and eggs aren't enough for you.

4. Remove the pudding to a clean bowl and cool down. I like to chill the pudding down in an ice bath. Remove the whole spices and grate fresh nutmeg over top.

Was it hopelessly naive of me to use brown basmati rice?

Brown rice takes at least twice as long as white to cook, so you would need more milk for it. With the lid off, the amount called for for white rice pudding would definately evaporate before being absorbed. If you are intent on using brown rice, I suggest looking up a recipe specifically for brown rice pudding.
here's a couple:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_30101,00.html
(I would use whole milk)

http://www.citytv.com/vancouver/NewFashionedBrownRicePudding.aspx

There's a lot more out there, too.

Evil Ronnie's recipe looked so delicious that I had to give it a try. I took some pics:


And then I thought- Ya know, this really just isn't quite rich enough...


Perfect!

When I saw the ingredients, I had a feeling this would taste a lot like that Rice Pudding place in Manhattan- and it's just like that! Only better, because it's fresher. I don't know if the pics show it, but it's soooo creamy- and not clumpy at all. I used reg. raisins, and I didn't have cardamom. My one mistake was that I didn't cook the rice for a full 40 minutes-more like 35-so it was a tad under done. Other than that it's perfect rice pudding. Flavors are great. Thanks Evil Ronnie! Is this your own recipe?

724,

I'm Glad it worked out for you. Several winters ago, I became obsessed with rice pudding and started searching for a recipe similar to a really good Greek diner version, sweet and creamy, and not too stiff. About six recipes and at least ten pounds later, this was the end result. I've also considered plumping up some halved dried apricots towards the end.

I usually finish mine with 2 or 3x that amount of butter.

Evil Ronnie wrote: Several winters ago, I became obsessed with rice pudding and started searching for a recipe similar to a really good Greek diner version, sweet and creamy, and not too stiff.

I've never had Greek restaurant rice pudding, but you definately got this recipe right.

Isn't that fun to finally figure out a certain restaurant food you love and be able to make it at home? I was obsessed with mashed potatoes for a while. I used to think magic had something to do with wether or not they turned out right. Then I found a website where a German Master chef said A)you have to scald the milk first, and B)you have to completely mash the potatoes before adding any liquid, or they won't be smooth. I added this knowledge to the few other tricks I had figured out, and now they come out perfect every time.

I usually finish mine with 2 or 3x that amount of butter.

I don't see how ANY more fat could fit into this pudding!

Just wanted to restate that (I think) the problem was probably solely in your choice of rice - brown rice, basmati or otherwise, will not make a decent bowl of rice pudding. Some things just aren't worth doing for any amount of praise from your cardiologist...

You need a short-grained, starchy rice - one with basically the same properties as you need for a risotto. Long, slow cooking and the best whole milk you can find are also important.

Don't forget to hide a peeled almond in it before serving to see who will get married within the next year!

leek wrote:Brown rice will not get soft you need to use white rice. The Indian rice pudding is either Kheer or Kulfi, I forget which (the other is ice cream).

Kulfi is the ice-cream, kheer is the rice-pudding – although kheer may also be simply thickened (reduced) milk/cream. There are many regional variations – in Bengal (NE India) it is known as payesh (pronounced Pa + yesh (to rhyme with Heche, as in Anne) – this is essentially kheer with some rice or vermicelli*. A similar preparation is called payasam in S. India.

FWIW - payesh doesn't contain a lot of rice, as in 's decadent recipe or rice 'pudding', just some rice in the thick syrupy milk – in making it I always (as I have been told to) add the sugar to the milk/cream when the rice is already half-cooked. If the sugar is added earlier the rice won't cook fully to tenderness (so I've been told – I haven't tested myself).
added on edit: To prevent the rice from clumping together as it cooks in the milk, the (rinsed & dried) uncooked rice is first rubbed over with a smidgen of ghee/clarified butter - just enough to coat all the grains.

Also if one is using palm-sugar (jaggery, piloncillo) to sweeten – this gives a lovely flavour to payesh – add this instead of a part of the sugar after the thickened milk/cream has cooled a bit (otherwise one risks the milk curdling).

*Once, finding no vermicelli in the pantry, A2Fay fried in ghee some broken angel-hair pasta till it was lightly brown and then added it to a sweetened reduced milk/cream mix with good results.

in Bengal (NE India) it is known as payesh (pronounced Pa + yesh (to rhyme with Heche, as in Anne)

Ummm, Das...actually, she pronounces it "haytch"....

Gypsy Boy wrote:

in Bengal (NE India) it is known as payesh (pronounced Pa + yesh (to rhyme with Heche, as in Anne)

Ummm, Das...actually, she pronounces it "haytch"....

Hey! Shh.

I have a giant book from the UK that has many delicious-sounding recipes in it for rice pudding, however, they ask for "pudding rice". Does anybody know what this refers to?

Pretty sure pudding rice is something like short grain rice.

Yes, it's short-grained, but it also cooks differently. Here's a nice review of various rices, with the focus on Japanese, i.e., japonica. If you can get some short-grained japonica—'sticky' rice—that would certainly work. But so would arborio.

Geo

All this rice pudding talk makes me want some. If anyone visits NY and hasn't yet been, this is a great spot to visit (and I wish someone would open one here):

http://www.ricetoriches.com/puddy.aspx

Maybe it can become the new cupcake.

Some info on rice pudding and a recipe for Riz au lait.
Riz au lait