Sunday, February 6, 2000		Sugar 'n' Spice

Sumptuous rice desserts
By Harkiran Sodhi

RICE makes some very tasty and nutritious desserts and puddings. Some are more mundane than others, while there are other recipes that make very unusual and interesting desserts. A traditional rice pudding as is seen in the West is very similar to our own kheer with the exception of a few individual seasonings.

Old fashioned rice pudding

Ingredients:

4 oz short grained rice

1 pint milk

2 oz castor sugar

1 oz butter

A pinch ground nutmeg

Method:

Grease a 2 pint pie dish. Into it add in the rice, milk and sugar and mix it well. Dot the top of the dish with butter and bake in a preheated oven at 325°F (170°C) for about two hours. After an hour of baking is over, sprinkle the grated nutmeg over the top. In case you want a creamier rice pudding then a 1/4 pint of cream can be added to the dish as well.

Rice and orange mould pudding

Ingredients:

1 pint milk

3 oz rice

1 oz sugar

2 teaspoons cornflour

2 oranges

1 oz gelatin

2 oz almonds blanched and browned

Method:

Put the milk, rice, and sugar into a large saucepan and bring it to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring it occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

In a small bowl, mix the cornflour to a smooth paste with a little cold milk. Stir this into the rice mixture and let it cool. Grate the rind of one orange and take the juice of one orange. Mix the rind and the juice in the gelatin. Heat this on a low flame till the gelatin dissolves. Beat this into the rice mixture. Chop the almonds finely and add to the rice mixture also. Pour this into a two pint ring mould and put it into the fridge to set. Peel the remaining orange and remove the shin from the wedges. Once you are ready to serve the pudding, invert the mould on to a glass serving dish and decorate the top with orange slices.

Fruit Rice Imperial Cake

Ingredients:

4 oz rice

1 pint milk

1 oz castor sugar

1 large sized tin of pears

1 tablespoon arrowroot

Green and red food colour

Method:

Put the rice and the milk into a large saucepan along with sugar and bring it to a boil, stirring it occasionally. Cover and simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes or till all the milk has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Turn the rice into a greased 8-inch round dish and press it down. Let it cool and set in the fridge and then empty onto a flat glass serving dish.

Drain the tinned pears and keep the juice separately. Blend the arrowroot powder with a little pear juice and mix it well. Add in all the juice and bring it to a boil, stirring it till it thickens. Put half of the thickened juice in a bowl and add a few drops of pink colour to it, and a few drops of green colour to the other half. Coat half the pears green, and the other half pink. Arrange these on top of the rice mould and put it back in the fridge to chill. Remove only when you are ready to serve.