Dinner Party Rice Pudding

Monica Bhide’s recipe from her book Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen).

Serves 6

“This dish is not only tasty (of course!) but has a very striking presentation. I have served it at many dinner parties just after guests have announced, “I could not eat another bite of anything. I am so full.” And then they have proceeded to polish off this entire dessert! This recipe uses cardamom seeds. To obtain them, open a green cardamom pod and use your fingers to coax the tiny seeds out. Pound them gently using a mortar and pestle or put them in a heavy-duty plastic bag and pound them with a hammer.”

3 c. whole milk
2 to 4 Tbls. sweetened condensed milk (see Tips)
1/4 c. white basmati rice, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. cardamom seeds, crushed
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced

In a deep saucepan, bring whole milk and condensed milk to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent scorching.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the rice and cardamom and mix well. Continue to cook for about 50 minutes, until the milk has reduced by half and you obtain a creamy consistency. Stir frequently while cooking.

Remove from the heat and allow to come to room temperature.

Refrigerate, covered, for at least an hour.

When ready to serve, spoon some pudding into a wine glass, layer with some mango, and add another layer of rice pudding. Serve immediately.

Tips:
-Use 4 tablespoons of condensed milk if you like your rice pudding really sweet. With 2 tablespoons, it is sweet but not overwhelmingly so.
-If you have a mango that is firm, peel it and then use a vegetable peeler to create thin mango slices. Arrange the slices on a plate and place a scoop of the rice pudding in the center of the mango carpaccio.

Did you know?
Green cardamom is used in various forms around the world: people brew it in coffee, add it to liquors and perfumes, saute it with rice and meats, and in India it is eaten raw, whole (pod and seeds and all) as a digestive after a meal. It is also sold covered in vark, an edible silver foil, that makes it appear like a small shiny stone.