Chai-spiced rice pudding

Name: Chai-spiced rice pudding
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 100 g short grain pudding rice; 700 ml unsweetened coconut drink; 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste; 30 g dark brown soft sugar; ½ tsp fine sea salt; 2 English breakfast tea bags; 50 g mixed pistachios and skin-on almonds, to serve; 4 tbsp double cream, more if liked, to serve (optional)

For optimum creaminess, Crystelle Pereira's dessert is cooked low and slow. Infused with earthy black tea, the holy grail of spices (cardamom, cinnamon and ginger) and coconut milk, it’s comforting and flavoursome.

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Vegetarian

Serves4
CourseDessert
Prepare10 mins
Cook1 hr
Total time1 hr 10 mins

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Ingredients

100g short grain pudding rice
700ml unsweetened coconut drink
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
30g dark brown soft sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 English breakfast tea bags
50g mixed pistachios and skin-on almonds, to serve
4 tbsp double cream, more if liked, to serve (optional)

For the chai spices

8 cardamom pods
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground black pepper

Method

Wash the pudding rice in cold water until it runs clear to remove excess starch. Set aside. For the chai spices, toast the cardamom in a dry frying pan until fragrant, then cool and bash to remove the outer pods. Finely grind the seeds in a pestle and mortar or grinder to make about 1 tsp.
Pour 600ml coconut drink into a large saucepan and set over a low heat. Add the ground cardamom and the other chai spices, the vanilla paste, sugar, sea salt and rinsed rice. Stir well to combine.
Put the tea bags into 150ml boiling water. Leave to infuse for about 5 minutes, then squeeze and remove the tea bags. Pour the tea into the rice mixture and stir to combine.
Cook the rice pudding (uncovered) on a low heat for 1 hour, stirring every few minutes to avoid the rice sticking to the bottom, until the mixture is thick and creamy and the rice is cooked and tender. While the pudding cooks, put the nuts into a frying pan and toast gently for 3-5 minutes until fragrant. Cool, then roughly chop.
Just before serving, stir the remaining coconut drink through the pudding to loosen. Serve in bowls, sprinkled with the toasted chopped nuts. Drizzle with double cream, if liked.

Cook’s tip

This can be made ahead – cool quickly in a large cold bowl, then store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Add some more coconut drink when reheating, as the rice pudding will thicken as it cools.