Portuguese Rice Pudding "Arroz Doce" Recipe

My mums rice pudding is the best ever! 


I hope you try it next time you're in the kitchen, you won't regret it!
She shares it with you below.
The pic shows one without cinnamon, and don't forget you can try and replace the milk with soy milk, etc for a vegan rice pudding!


Its yum!
Monica xx

Ingredients:
4 pints of milk
1 heaped (Soup) spoon of Custard Powder
Sugar to taste
2 Cinnamon Sticks
2 Lemon peel, (outside peel, cut like potato peel)a slight pinch of Salt only.(note: if over salt it, it will hold a bad taste, so its just a pinch)
1 Hand full of Rice. (put your hand inside the bag and grab hold of the most rice you can by closing you hand, let the excess fall as you hold tight)

Start by putting 2 pints of milk, salt pinch, cinnamon sticks and lemon peel, in a pan, bring it to boiling point, (milk rises very quickly, be careful not to let it spill, as burnt milk has a foul smell and you will be short in fluids at the end).

Add the rice, and stir often, always taking care not to let it raise above the edges of the pan. You will have a load of fluid and some rice scattered, that is how it should be. Its ready for the next step when rice is over cooked, (very puffy and soft).

At this stage add another pint of milk, (only when rice is cooked enough, if you were to add the sugar or cold milk before the rice is cooked enough, the rice would stop cooking and remain hard/rubbery). Add the sugar to taste, our family loves it sweet, so we make it very sweet, about 250gm of sugar. However each person may have different sugar tastes, so add sugar to taste, (after adding the desired sugar you can always try a bit of the sauce/milk to see if it is enough or you require more).

Let it boil for about 5 minutes in slow temperature, (enough to keep it boiling).

Meanwhile get a tall bowl, pour in the remaining pint of milk, and add the heaped spoon of custard, (you may add an extra leveled spoon of custard powder if you want it really creamy), mix well, as often it sticks to the bottom of the bowl, so make sure it has completely disolved.

Once the 5 minutes or so have passed pour in the custard mix. Bring it to the boil again, it should now be a lovely yellow creamy substance, ready... steady... Eat....., (when hot it may upset your bowels, so let it cool off, remember to lick the pan, (using a spoon of course).

You need to pour it immediately into containers, individual or not. Container/s need to be taller rather than wider, to keep it creamy and avoiding to dry off. You can then powder the top of the rice pudding with grounded cinnamon.

From your first time confectioning it, you can then adjust the amounts of custard, milk, and sugar to your own liking. If you have guests and want to impress just double or triple the ingredients and make enough for everyone. I always do 12 pints of milk, as they are many, and love it.

You can also work with half water half milk, but will not be as creamy.

Little Secret: if you ever manage to get to a Portuguese supermarket or you travel to Portugal, replace the  custard with: "Leite Creme"-Brand "Royal" , you will then be hooked for life.

BOM APETITE - Enjoy your Dessert 


Mum aka FunnyBanana