Indian Rice Pudding on a Dark & Stormy Night

Like the rest of the Midwest, we hunkered down last night with our suppy of candles, flashlights, batteries, weather radio, extra bottled water, extra milk, bread, lunch meat (gag), assorted other junk, and charged cell phone waiting for hell to ice over.  As condemned people I said "screw the diet!" (I did go to the gym yesterday) and Gene and I each picked whatever we wanted for dinner before the maybe/probable electrical power outage could come to pass.  I chose Alton Brown's Indian Rice Pudding for dessert so I could use the cardamon Auntie Miranda had given me as a treat brought back from one of her business trips, and Gene chose the artery clogging pasta carbonara, except he wanted it with scallops.  Okay.  Works for me.  I didn't take any pics of the carbonara, though.  I have a friend who always says if you're going to sin big, for God's sake, don't talk about it, don't write anything down, and don't take pictures.  Well, I've already blown my cover on the first two so I thought I'd play it smart on the third.  NO photos of the carbonara.  So the calories don't count, right?

Yeah. Let's just move on and pretend and I didn't talk or write anything down.

Isn't the Indian Rice Pudding lovely?

It was so incredibly good I'll be making the recipe again and again. Well, maybe not that often considering the ingredients but you know what I mean. It was really yummy and very simple when you look at it. The flavor is all packed in the coconut milk and cardamom, which by the way, is my spice/herb this week for Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging.  Cardamom is a spice from the ginger family that is used culinarily throughout Scandinavia, India, and the Middle East, and culinarily and medicinally thoughout Asia.  It also happens to be (and this is my favorite) what makes graham crackers taste like graham crackers.  Cardamom makes my beloved Teddy Grahams, grahamier.

As a postscript of sorts, just got a phone call. With all the rainy icy crap (haven't actually seen outside yet, it's still dark) and more along with snow on the way, lots of people who live in the little towns and out in the country around here can't get into work this morning.  I live two miles from the hospital and have four-wheel drive. Hmmm... even though it was supposed to be my day off, guess who gets to go play respiratory games this morning? I'm thinking a bigger check before Christmas, what do you think?

Indian Rice Pudding Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004 Recipe Summary Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 10 minutes Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 4 servings User Rating: 1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup coconut milk 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 1/2 ounces golden raisins, approximately 1/3 cup 1 1/2 ounces chopped unsalted pistachios, approximately 1/3 cup In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping. Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Episode#: EA1H13
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Recipe Notes from Glenna:

You know me.  I can't leave a recipe alone, even Alton Brown's, whom I adore. BUT, this time I only tweaked a few minor things.  Instead of golden rasins, I added dried fruit "bits", meaning a combo of raisins, cranberries, and apricots,  I left out the pistachios, and I added a tsp of vanilla powder.  I'm sure if Alton were here he would forgive me, and he's welcome to come to dinner anytime and let me test the theory.

Comments

[Jeff]

I've never used Cardamom before...interesting :)

[sher]

I didn't know that cardomam is what gives graham crackers their distinctive taste. Interesting. Good ole' Alton. The pudding looks fabulous!

[kalyn]

I say if you're going to sin, go for a big one. I think carbonara with scallops sounds divine. If we ever get to have dinner together I'll tell you my rice pudding story from when I was in the fourth grade. Great photo of the rice pudding. I bet Alton Brown would be very happy with it.

[Glenna]

Jeff--Play with it. I really like it alone or as an addition to anything with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Yum!

Sher--Yeah, I remember reading that somewhere and thinking "Oh, okay." and then tasting it and suddenly being able to identify it. I've always loved graham crackers.

Kalyn--You're on! Would love to hear this story!

[rosie]

I love making carbonara with seafood in it - I usually add some pequin peppers too to give it a little kick. I eat it maybe - twice a year. Otherwise, you would find me dead with a big smile on my face.

[Glenna]

Rosie--yeah us too, we don't eat it often but when we do we really enjoy it! The peppers would be greeeeat!