My daughter Patty asked me if I knew the recipe for rice pudding as made by a family friend, Helene Kataria, way back in the 1960's. I don't know exactly how Helene made it but it was baked and had numerous additions of milk while baking, and it was the best tasting creamiest rice pudding I ever ate. I've no idea where Helene might be today so I started a quest to make an excellent rice pudding, both for my daughter and as an entry for Food Nirvana. After all, rice pudding is one of the best appreciated comfort foods by just about anyone you might ask ... provided it is a very creamy rice pudding and not some idiot's baked version of dried crud! Alas, the sad truth is that I tried to make it a few times many years ago and I failed miserably. Either the rice was hard in the middle or the sauce curdled. I gave up. Now things have changed a lot relative to what I know and what I found to avoid the problems I had making it as a young adult.
I captured three recipes from the Internet and I assembled what I thought was the best ingredients combination and amounts and cooking procedure. And I had the memory of my mom's great stovetop rice pudding from my childhood, but no recipe. I had some personal ideas about making this pudding creatively that I did not see in any Internet recipes. The first idea was to achieve a special taste and creaminess by using evaporated milk in the process to replace some of the initial amount of regular milk. My lovely wife (and excellent cook), Marie, taught me that trick years ago when she made home made puddings for banana cream pie or coconut cream pie. The second idea was to avoid steps that produce a drier, custard-like pudding, such as happens in many baked versions, ergo never bake it unless you use Helene's method. Oh, yes, small amounts of different spices used often with desserts can be delightful with rice pudding if not overdone. Finally, I think if you want creamy pudding of top caliber then some heavy cream must be one of the ingredients, added after the boiling period is completed. Oh, I do love dark raisins in rice pudding so they are listed in my recipe, but you may choose to include them or not to suit your taste.
I made the pudding according to my ideas and the assembled composite of Internet recipes. I am very happy with my results! Food Nirvana now has a very fine creamy rice pudding recipe. My daughter is very pleased.
Does the pudding taste like that made by Helene? No. It is unique and perfect in it's own right and I have no further desire to learn more about how Helene made her version. But I finally realized that Helene used evaporated milk in her additions during the baking cycle, which yielded a sauce ratio higher in evaporated milk than regular milk. If you want to try Helene's approach you can do it in this stovetop recipe by doubling the amount of evaporated milk and using only one cup of whole milk.
You will see in the ingredients list a relatively small amount of sugars relative to other recipes I have seen. That is intentional, for the optional raisins add sweetness, and one can always add additional sugar, but you are never able to remove an excess amount of an ingredient like sugar. Thus, try it as listed, and then if you want, make small additions to achieve perfection on your own terms.
I have one other footnote to add. When first made, foods like rice and pasta have absorbed the proper amount of moisture to provide the right texture or tenderness. In both cases allowing that type of food to sit in a liquid or semi-liquid environment in refrigerated storage for a few days after cooking inevitably leads to additional moisture being absorbed, which is most often undesirable, for the overall food composition becomes drier, with pasta or rice swollen and the dish not as moist as when originally prepared. With pasta dishes it is easy to avoid that problem by keeping the pasta segregated from the sauce when serving it and especially when packaging leftovers. In the case of rice pudding, and other rice dishes, there is no easy or obvious way to avoid the problem, other than to 1) Eat all of it within a day or two, and 2) In the case of rice pudding you can add some milk to a dish of it and mix it when it is too thick, and perhaps also warm it a bit in a microwave oven, and that greatly improves the quality. Alternatively, if you use basmati rice and don't overcook it the rice pudding will be fine even after days of refrigerator storage, provided the surface of the pudding is kept covered with plastic wrap. Enough said.
Ingredients:
Directions:
The rice should be precooked at a very low boil/simmer in water with the saucepan covered. Do so, according to cooking instructions appropriate for the type of rice you are using.
Bring the milk, evaporated milk, precooked rice and salt to a boil over medium high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (I use my 2 1/2 quart tin lined solid copper French saucepan that is perfect for making sauces and candies), stirring every few minutes. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer the mixture uncovered until the precooked rice is very tender and well coated, about five minutes. Stir the mixture frequently, like every minute or two, to prevent any rice from clumping or sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Be sure to test the rice at the end of the cooking cycle as it should be tender all the way through. If it is not, then continue simmering and stirring for an additional five minutes, adding 1/3 cup of milk first to slightly thin the sauce and provide more liquid for the rice to absorb.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and keep it covered with a lid for ten minutes. That will complete any remaining moisture absorption process.
Whisk the eggs well in a 2 quart mixing bowl. Add the brown and white sugars and whisk until well blended. Add the heavy cream and whisk until the mixture is uniform. Add one cup of the hot rice and milk mixture to the egg mixture, gradually, while whisking rapidly to incorporate it.
Return the saucepan to the heat.
Add the rice modified egg, sugar and cream mixture to the saucepan of cooked rice and milk and stir slowly and continuously, on low heat, for 5 to 10 minutes, until it reaches a temperature of 160ºF. Be careful not to have the mixture come to a boil at this point or it will curdle. I recommend using a candy or frying thermometer to be sure the temperature does not exceed 165ºF. You may or may not notice a small amount of steam coming from the pudding periodically when it reaches the correct temperature. Note that the rice pudding may appear a bit too runny but that changes as it cools, and especially after it is refrigerated.
Remove the pudding from the heat and stir or whisk in the vanilla, raisins, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg until everything is well mixed.
Put the pudding into the 2 quart mixing bowl, stir briefly, and cover it with plastic wrap to keep the pudding surface from drying and forming a skin. That is accomplished by having the plastic wrap in direct contact with the surface of the pudding, not simply stretched across the rim of the bowl.
You can serve this pudding warm or cold. It is delicious both ways. As noted, it will thicken considerably if chilled in the refrigerator, and you may/may not decide to stir a small amount of heavy cream into it immediately before serving.