This dessert brings together the old-fashioned comfort foods of rice pudding and stewed apricots and then brings things up to date with some gentle, aromatic spicing.
It’s a useful recipe when you need to be well prepared as both components can be made a day or two ahead. Both the rice and the apricots require a bit of vigilance whilst cooking so have them on the stove as you are doing other things in the kitchen. But that’s as difficult as it gets. The resulting combination is silky and creamy. Add a bit of textural crunch by garnishing with roasted nuts.
Caren
CREAMED CARDAMOM RICE WITH VANILLA APRICOT COMPOTE
Serves 6-8
Apricot and Vanilla Compote
300 gm best quality dried apricots
750 ml water
50 gm caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 2cm piece fresh ginger, skinned and smashed
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon orange blossom water, or more to taste
Soak the apricots in the water overnight.
Transfer the apricots and water to a saucepan and add all the other ingredients, except the orange blossom water.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for one hour or until the apricots begin to break down. Stir frequently to prevent the mix catching on the bottom.
Cool slightly and then add the orange blossom water.
Refrigerate the compote if required for the next day or keep at room temperature. The compote can be warmed in the microwave if required.
Remove the vanilla bean, ginger and cinnamon stick before serving.
Creamed Cardamom Rice
160 gm basmati rice
2 teaspoons crushed cardamom seeds, removed from about 10 cardamom pods
2.5 litres full cream milk
180 gm caster sugar
½ cup roasted sliced almonds or crushed pistachios to serve
Wash the rice and soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain and discard the water.
Bring the milk to the boil, reduce the heat and place a simmer mat on the hot plate. Stir the rice and cardamom into the milk.
Simmer the mix for at least 1½ hours or until the rice has a creamy texture. Stir frequently during this time so the rice does not catch on the bottom and stir in any skin that may form on the surface.
Towards the end of the cooking time stir in the sugar and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Take off the heat and allow to cool a bit before serving with the apricot compote. The rice can be refrigerated and reheated gently.
To Serve
Place spoonfuls of the rice in 6-8 glass dishes, top with some apricot compote and then garnish with the roasted sliced almonds or crushed pistachios. You will probably have some rice and apricot compote left over to enjoy the next day.