Dessert Recipe | Healthy Black Rice Pudding – A Little is Never Enough
I knew very little about rice till I got married and Basmati rice was the only rice I ate and cooked with, as rice is not a staple food to the place I was born. Many households of Rajasthan in India enjoy cooking an occasional Pilaf, a Biryani or simple Daal Chawal (lentil-rice) at times to break the monotony of eating wheat based dishes the whole year.
It was much later in life that I came to know about boiled rice, brown rice, Jasmine rice and many other rice varieties. Now these varieties adorn my pantry and we all love dishes cooked with these nutty, chewy and healthy rice in our meal.
The other day during a house warming ceremony of a friend, we were served an unusual dessert which looked not so pleasant but tasted extremely delicious. I couldn’t stop asking my host about the same and was informed that this is a very special dish made during important functions using Black rice.
I started my hunt for this Black rice and found it in my health store. The rice looks almost black or deep purple in color and is quite pricey. Black rice is very common in Asian markets and cost almost four times the normal white rice.
The nutty aroma and the chewy texture of the cooked rice makes it a wonderful ingredient for desserts and salad. Black sticky rice is sweet in taste and needs long hours of soaking and cooking. Easy, no-fuss and healthy, the desserts cooked with Black rice are now my family favorites. I often make it adding pureed fruits such as banana, mango and grated apple to it. Here are the two recipes of Black rice pudding from my kitchen…
1. Black Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk & Palm Sugar
Sticky black rice pudding with coconut milk
Ingredients;
- 1 cup black rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 2/3 cup palm sugar
- 1/4 cup raisins/dried blueberries
- A pinch of salt
Boiled black rice, coconut milk and palm sugar candy..
Method; Rinse the black rice in water for a few times and check for any impurities. Soak the rice overnight or for atleast 9-10 hours.
The easiest and quickest way to cook this hard and sticky rice is to use a pressure cooker. Pour 3 cups of water and boil it, add black rice and salt in the pressure cooker and close the lid. Cook the rise on high heat for 5-6 whistles. Reduce heat and cook for another 5 minutes.
Let the pressure cooker cool for a few minutes, open the lid and add palm sugar and raisins in the cooked black rice.
Pour coconut milk and cook the pudding again on slow heat till the pudding reaches a desired consistency. You can stop cooking if you like a runny pudding. Cook further if you want a creamy and thick black rice pudding.
I normally pour the cooked black rice pudding in small serving bowls (Ramekins) and bake it for 10 minutes at 200C to get a firm pudding.
2. Black Rice Pudding with Fresh Mango Puree
Black rice pudding with mango puree
I would have cooked numerous versions of this black rice pudding using mashed banana, dried fruits, nuts grated apples and such add on to the recipe and we liked each one more than the other. Fresh mango puree gives a wonderful summery feel to this dessert. I sometimes pour the dessert in individual ramekins and bake it for 7-10 minutes just to set it firm.
Ingredients;
- 1 cup black rice
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup condensed milk or white sugar
- 1/2 cup mango puree
- Spice mix
Method; Tie all the whole spices (1 small cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods, 2 cloves) in a small muslin cloth.
Cook the black rice in the similar way as mentioned above with the spice mix bag in it.
Let the pressure cooker cool naturally. Check the consistency of pudding, if you want more creamy and thick pudding cook further for a couple of minutes.
Remove the spice bag from the pudding.
Black rice pudding with mango puree
Pour condensed milk and mango puree in pressure cooker with pudding and keep the lid open. Cook the black rice pudding for another 2 minutes on low heat and take off the flames.
Garnish the black rice pudding with raisins, cashews or almonds fried in a tbsp. of butter. Serve the pudding hot, warm or cold with cream, chopped mangoes and bananas.
Sticky black rice pudding with coconut milk
The deep purple color that black rice imparts to any dish is so oevrpowering that the any other food ingredients (mango puree here) added to the recipe will get unnoticed. You can avoid condensed milk and use just plain milk or no milk at all in this recipe and still get a delicious dessert.
Thought black rice takes a little extra time to cook, but let me tell you that all those long hours of soaking, cooking and waiting is worth the time spent. This simple dessert of Black rice pudding is extremely filling, healthy and yum at the same time!
Notes;
- Spices are normally not added in the traditional Thai black rice pudding.
- Coconut milk and palm sugar are the main ingredients for flavoring as well as giving creamy texture to the pudding.
- Replacing mashed banana with mango puree makes another tasty variation of this pudding.
- I used ready made coconut milk in the recipe, use fresh coconut milk if you can for better taste.
- Both the recipes of Black rice can be cooked without pressure cooker also. It will take longer time to cook.
I have never made black rice pudding but I am sure it’ll taste absolutely delicious! Looks very tempting.
chinmayie @ love food eat recently posted..Spicy Baby Bell Peppers with Dried Pomegranate Seeds
Healthy n yum …nice recipe
Priti recently posted..Eggless Strawberry & Banana Muffins
Lovely dessert….i totally agree with you little is never enough…..
Lubna Karim recently posted..Chickpea Salad with Raw Mango
YAY!! Another recipe for black rice and it’s a dessert! Thanks for the inspiration.
the wicked noodle recently posted..gazpacho {presentation & freezing tips, too}
Great post and gorgeous photos too!
Hi sanjeeta,
Awesome. looks delicious.will try soon. can you please tell what is the name of the health store.
thanks
@Lakshmi, I got it from Brown tree.
Hi Sanjeeta
have been a silent reader of your blog for a long time. Love your recipes. This one is amazing. I recently tasted this in Maha mudra, a restaurant in chennai. I simply loved it and was waiting to try it out. Will try you recipe now! Where can I get quinoa, barley etc in chennai?
cheers
Anitha
Deekshanya recently posted..2012
Was wondering wat people will do with this black rice when i saw them recently in chinese store, omg pudding sounds utterly delicious.lovely dish.
Priya recently posted..Jhatpat Poha
I know what you mean – when I was growing up, rice was white rice and that was it! Now I know better! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen black rice. It looks similar to wild rice, but I don’t think it’s the same thing. I’ll be looking that one up. Huge fan of rice puddings and both of these look absolutely delicious! I’ve never made it with coconut milk so now I’m very curious as to the flavor that imparts. Just going to have to give it a try!
mjskit recently posted..Orange Ginger Chicken Salad
@MJ, while writing the post wild rice was in my mind, don’t know if both are one and the same..black rice with coconut milk and palm sugar is simply amazing, MJ..you must try it soon.
@Deekshanya, Hi, thanks for your sweet words of appreciation! You can get these grains at Brown tree or Gormei market in Anna nagar.
Rice pudding is a favorite of mine, but I never thought to make it with black rice — brilliant idea! So healthy!
Faith recently posted..Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
This looks so tasty Sanjeeta! I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of black rice before. I’ve used wild rice but I’m pretty sure that’s a completely different thing.
~ Thanks for always sharing creative and delicious recipes with us.
Julie M. recently posted..Blogging and Baking with King Arthur Flour
I am a huge fan of black and purple rice, not only for the nutty texture, but also because they are higher in antioxidants than regular rice. I love all your yummy versions of black rice pudding Sanjeeta. Delicious!
EA-The Spicy RD recently posted..Singing the Blues…Blueberry Lassi and a Blue Berry Basket Giveaway.
Rice pudding is such comfort food to me, I must admit I’ve never had a black rice version!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen recently posted..Easy Entertaining | Dinner Party Ideas
I’ve never tried a black rice pudding, it looks delicious though and even better that it’s healthy!
Jennifer (Delicieux) recently posted..Strawberry and Mascarpone Galette
This is very exotic and I suspect it was packed with flavors!
Katerina recently posted..Spiced Chocolate Cake with Glazed Chestnuts and Dried Nuts
I’ve had this pudding in a Thai restaurant, and I’ve also cooked with the black (forbidden) rice at home. It looks quite dramatic on a plate. Your variation with the cardamom, cinnamon, and mango puree looks fantastic!
Mary recently posted..Fig Mascarpone Dessert Pizza
This looks so good! I love black rice, in fact it is my favorite, but never tried it in a dessert. Thanks for the inspiration
Magic of Spice recently posted..What’s on the side? Chilled Wild Mushroom and Coconut Soup Veloute
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Hi, I am Sanjeeta kk. The writer, photographer and stylist at Lite Bite with a bucketful of dreams and a ray of hope.
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