I like Indian-inspired rice pudding, I like the flavors and I prefer the thinner consistency over the thick baked stuff my mom made when I was a kid.

Here's the recipe I use (I use lite coconut milk and omit the nuts): Indian Rice Pudding Recipe | Alton Brown | Food Network

I wonder if Dear Abby's classic rice pudding would hit the mark?

https://www.cooks.com/recipe/g57u99os/abbys-rice-pudding.html

Here is my T&T Bread Pudding recipe. Supposedly, it is from the Bon Ton Cafe in New Orleans.

The included whiskey sauce is tasty, but I’ve never been able to get the sugar to melt. Mine is always grainy. Therefore, I’ve switched over to a Vanilla Sauce. I usually make it in the microwave.

Does she prefer the creamy stove type or the skin on top oven version?

My go-to rice pudding is Ina’s Rum Raisin Rice Pudding. Although the recipe calls for basmati rice, I generally use long grain

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rum-raisin-rice-pudding-recipe2-1916735.amp

Thanks all!

I will sift through these recipes. I am not sure which kind she prefers. I know she mentioned nutmeg. She specifically mentions the 40-50s era NJ diner version from her childhood. I would assume that would mean an unfussy variation. Diner food is generally not fancy but what they do well they do really well. FWIW the diners near where she grew up were run by greek families.

I was going to ask the same as Islay. Also was this much loved rice pudding served hot or cold? I make a cold set version I got from a Cypriot cookbook which has cinnamon on it. Maybe the Greek diners did something similar? At home we always had hot baked rice pudding with nutmeg on top.

Since you mentioned NJ.....Hubs Italian family has grandpas rice pudding recipie that he used to serve at his restaurant, in Hoboken.

It involves a long slow cook of the rice and the constant addition of milk while it is cooking, much like cooking rissoto . I have often wondered if the original one that he based his on used arborio rice and he used the most avaialble one here which is carolina rice. I doubt if arborio was as avaialble then as it is now here in the US. This would have been about 100 years ago! The carolina rice does not soften in teh same manner as do some other varieties of rice.

I used to make it for the kids and hubs, but I want nothing to do with it for myself. I dont like the way that rice gets hard when cold and I have an adversarial relationship with any kind of pudding. But the family likes it.

Must be a Jersey thing!

FWIW, I prefer to use leftover short grain brown rice to make rice pudding. It doesn't get so hard and grainy as white rice does when cold, and stays kind of chewy. No exact measurements - I simmer cooked leftover rice on the stove with milk and maybe some cream or half & half to cover, raisins, sugar to taste, pinch salt - and always put in vanilla, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. I usually use a broken cinnamon stick and a piece or 2 of vanilla bean. Sometimes I add a bit of cornstarch slurry at the end to help it thicken up.

I've used a potato masher while it's simmering too, to release more starch to make it thick.

This is the sort of rice pudding I grew up with. I loved stirring strawberry jam into it so it went pink LOL. You can use any milk. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/a-nice-rice-pudding

That's interesting, Islay - I didn't know there was such a thing as pudding rice until now.

I wonder if it's the white version of the brown sushi rice I buy?

It is a roundish, small, short grain white rice. Closest is probably Arborio but pudding rice doesn't retain the slightly firm centre of risotto rice.

That is almost exactly like my Cypriot recipe except in mine the rice is boiled in water first, then when the water is almost all absorbed, the milk goes in. Thriftier than using all milk and needs less watching. It also uses a little cornflour and fewer egg yolks. I use less sugar than the recipe calls for because it is really very sweet.

The daughter also sent me the recipes she uses

Let us know when you find a recipe your mom likes. I want to try it!!

I was inspired to make rice pudding yesterday as a friend was coming for lunch. She asked for strawberry jam to stir in so I'm not alone LOL.

This is my Cypriot recipe. Almost identical to bbstx's second one.

I did not realize that there was so much milk in rice pudding. I guess that is why I never have it, although I think I would like it if milk did not upset my stomach.

Could you use lactose free milk, Lars?

Possibly, but I never buy milk, except for dried milk, which I use in baking.

Asian version uses coconut milk, which is yummy!

So does the Indian version, which also has cardamom and toasted pistachios.

I guess you could buy some lactose free milk just for making rice pudding, Lars. Or make up some of the dried milk. Or bake something else with the leftover fresh milk to use it up.

I really like the idea of using coconut milk, as I love the flavor of coconut.

I don't think I would need cardamom with coconut, and in fact I would leave out all spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) if using coconut milk, as it has enough flavor on its own. I might use vanilla or a bit of mace, however.

I do like the idea of adding pistachios to it, along with the coconut milk. I have a fair amount of coconut milk on hand now, but not enough to make a decent batch of pudding.

I keep coconut milk on hand partly because I like to make coconut ice cream, although Kevin will not eat it. He does, however, love it when I make pistachio ice cream.

Lars, I haven't found that the flavor of coconut comes through much in my coconut rice pudding recipe, but it also uses regular milk in a 50/50 ratio. My coconut custard recipe calls for heating the milk with half a cup of shredded coconut, letting it sit to cool for a short while, and then straining out the coconut. You could do that for rice pudding too. You'd probably want to use unsweetened coconut.

My coconut rice pudding recipe calls for a few cardamon pods and vanilla.

There is a sticky coconut rice dish served with mango served at Thai restaurants around here. It is delicious and kind of fits the spectrum of puddingy rice desserts.

"There is a sticky coconut rice dish served with mango served at Thai restaurants around here."

One of the best desserts I ever had and probably the best was a slice of mango cheesecake from a local Indian restaurant. It wasn't heavy like a traditional cheesecake so I don't think it was baked; the lightness of it was similar to an "icebox" (non-baked) cheesecake I make. I tried multiple times but could never replicate it. I still think about it to this day and wish I find a recipe somewhere.

But yes, the rice pudding recipe I linked to above would be wonderful accompanied by slices of fresh mango.

This is our favorite rice pudding, made with already-cooked rice:

Raisin and Rice Custard Pudding

¼ cup butter, softened

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups cooked rice

1 cup raisins

Mix butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon in a blender.

Grease a 2-quart casserole or soufflé dish and pour in mixture.

Stir in rice and raisins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serves 10.

Notes:

You can halve the recipe easily; it still bakes about 45 minutes to cook the custard.

Be sure to break up any clumps of leftover cooked rice before baking.

I stir the cooking pudding after 10 minutes and then about every 15 minutes until done to prevent all of the rice from sinking to the bottom.

Less butter, low-fat milk, EggBeaters (for half the eggs), and Craisins all work fine in this recipe.

Well I made the rizogalo (and cornbread muffins) very early this AM. I am not sure it thickened enough. That said I haven’t ever made rice pudding. I tend to overcook when in doubt. So this time I put it into bowls to cool with fingers crossed. It tastes good.

I will report later. After I bring some to my mom who is the expert in eating if not making rice pudding.

I must say the quality of tv companionship this early in the morning is uninspiring. Religious dogma segued directly into infomercials. Armegeddon and vacuum cleaners.

I will try several versions so thanks for all of the recipes. I tend to get on a kick with a new recipe until I find a recipe or technique I like..

I made rice pudding last week. A microwave-in-a-mug recipe (adequate but not worth sharing the link). It was very thin, almost watery, immediately after it was cooked. Like yours, agmss, it tasted good. As it sat, it thickened up. I hope yours will do the same.

Interesting thread! My family was more likely to make tapioca pudding, than rice pudding, but my grandmother would occasionally make a 9x13 baked rice dish with sweet cherries in it. No idea if she used a recipe or winged it, but I haven't found anything like it when I've searched on-line.