Puerto Rican rice pudding

      The smell of ginger,anise, clove and cinnamon fills the air. It is coming from our kitchen where my mother is cooking the most precious dessert of our Christmas celebration "Arroz con dulce"(Puerto Rican rice pudding). 

     Sadly enough my mother's recipe got lost in time. This recipe was given to my sister Chary by one of her neighbors who was in her seventies at that time. That was about 40 years ago. The original version uses dark raisins, but here I use dried cranberries because my daughter doesn't like raisins. The substitution of the cranberries brings another layer of flavor to the rice pudding. 
                 
                     dessertsandgoodfood.blogspot.com

 Ingredients:
For the spice water

 5 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 tablespoon anise seeds
1 1/2 tablespoon cloves 
3 ounces of ginger,washed and smashed
8 cups of water

For the Rice pudding:

 1 cup short grain rice(or risotto rice)
1 can coconut milk
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoon of butter
1/4 cup grated coconut(optional)
1/2 cup dried cranberries 

In a medium bowl add the rice and cover with water to soak  until you prepare the spice water. 

   








Meanwhile in a large pot add the 8 cups of water, cinnamon, anise seeds, clove and ginger. Bring the water to boil over a high heat, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the water reduces to about 6 cups. Reduce the heat to low to keep the water warm. 

In a large saucepan add 3 cups of the spice water, season with salt to taste and bring to boil.










Drain the rice and add to the pot. Add the brown and granulated sugar and mix well. Turn the heat to medium and cook stirring constantly.  When the rice absorbs the water add more spice water and continue to cook.

When you pinch the rice between your fingers and you feel only a little hardness in the center of the grain add the coconut milk and the grated coconut. Turn the heat to medium low and cook stirring constantly until the coconut milk is reduced to a half.  Add the butter and the cranberries and continue to cook until you can see the bottom of the saucepan when you stir the rice. 











If the rice still hard, turn the heat to low and let it cook for a few more minutes. 

 At this point the lovely aroma of the rice pudding will bring all of your family into the kitchen with plates in hand!

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