Before moving on to the recipe of the day ‘sweet rice’, you should know that I intended to post many wonderful recipes for Diwali and Thanksgiving, but Hurricane ‘Sandy’ prevented me from doing so.
Sandy the Super Storm
We did not have power or heat for 11 days! It was quite a turbulent and challenging time for us. My daughter Dari read the entire Harry Potter series while the rest of us tried to work from home and survive while doing so. Because of the frigid temperatures, we had to wear several layers of clothes to keep warm; however, we had an abundance of food to soothe us, thanks to the gas stove.
Helping Others after the Storm
I managed so well food-wise that I volunteered to cook hot meals for 100 people since the surrounding neighborhoods were badly stricken and many lost everything due to the severe flooding. Thankfully, electricity came back that very morning, and my neighbors Dawn and Tim came by to help us—because sometimes I bite off more than I can chew.
Tomorrow is Diwali, and I was intent on contributing in honor of my mom, who celebrates and cooks for this auspicious religious Hindu festival.
Tomorrow is Diwali, and I was intent on contributing in honor of my mom, who celebrates and cooks for this auspicious religious Hindu festival.
What is Sweet Rice?
Rice pudding, referred to as “sweet rice” in Trinidad, is another one of our popular desserts. Rice is cooked with ginger, spices, and three types of milk to produce a classic, creamy rice pudding. I recall that “sweet rice” was mostly served and eaten at religious functions, including Hindu ‘prayers’, but there are many of us who enjoy it occasionally at home.
I’ve been playing around with this recipe for a bit, trying to make it as simple as possible. Karen, my sister-in-law, and Mummy’s best friend taught me how to make this, and yes, Mummy didn’t hold back on her comments and critiques while I was testing it. But you know what? They all whip up the most amazing sweet rice. Now, I’ve mentioned it before, but none of them use proper measurements, so recreating their recipes can be a real puzzle. However, I believe I’ve finally cracked the code on this one.
How to cook traditional sweet rice?
The technique is very similar to that used in making Risotto, which involves the gradual addition of liquid and constant stirring. I used Jasmine rice but you can try it with white rice, however, do not add milk until the rice is cooked.
The senior cooks in my family claim that the rice does not boil well with milk. If, for some reason, the rice is still not fully cooked using the four cups of water, add additional water (in ¼ cup increments) until it is fully cooked. This recipe can be modified depending on the consistency you prefer. For a thicker consistency, cook longer, allowing more liquid to evaporate; if you like a more liquid consistency, cook for less time.
When I used one cup of condensed milk, Mummy claimed it wasn’t sweet enough, so please, for the love of God, add more condensed milk and make Mummy happy! She also said it could use a little more ginger, so ginger lovers, feel free to add more.
The senior cooks in my family claim that the rice does not boil well with milk. If, for some reason, the rice is still not fully cooked using the four cups of water, add additional water (in ¼ cup increments) until it is fully cooked. This recipe can be modified depending on the consistency you prefer. For a thicker consistency, cook longer, allowing more liquid to evaporate; if you like a more liquid consistency, cook for less time.
When I used one cup of condensed milk, Mummy claimed it wasn’t sweet enough, so please, for the love of God, add more condensed milk and make Mummy happy! She also said it could use a little more ginger, so ginger lovers, feel free to add more.
[Please do what I did while I took this shot–pretend you didn’t see what my little Munster did to her fingers.]
Warning: This is rich, creamy, sweet, insanely delectable, and addicting. Try it at your own risk.
Trinidad Sweet Rice Recipe (Caribbean Rice Pudding)
Serves 4-8 or just 1
Serves 4-8 or just 1
1 cup uncooked Jasmine or white rice, rinsed well and drained
5 cups water, or more if required
2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste)
2-inch piece of ginger, grated, or more to your preference
8 whole cardamom, slightly crushed
1 cup whole milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
1/4 cup brown or granulated sugar, if added sweetness is required!!
Optional ingredients(use any or all of the following): 8 whole cloves, ½ cup raisins, and 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
When doubling the recipe, I used 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of the additional condensed milk, and it was equally delicious.
Wash rice with several changes of water until water is clear. Drain.
In a medium stock pot, add water, rice, cinnamon stick, cloves, and ginger (cardamom and cloves if using). Bring to a boil over high heat uncovered. Once it comes to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the rice is cooked but still firm, about 15–20 minutes. If it’s still not soft and tender after that time, add an additional cup of water and continue to cook.
[I added it a little late here]
Add whole milk and optional ingredients and cook until most of the milk is absorbed (about 5-10 minutes), stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
Add evaporated milk and cook, stirring constantly, until that boils down, about 5-10 minutes, maybe more depending on your burner.
Add condensed milk and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens but not totally evaporated, another 10-20 minutes.
I recommend cooking on a very low heat until the color begins to darken slightly. This way the flavors develop even further. Always check to make sure the bottom is not burning.
I recommend cooking on a very low heat until the color begins to darken slightly. This way the flavors develop even further. Always check to make sure the bottom is not burning.
Remove the cinnamon stick (and whole cardamoms and cloves if you used those ingredients) before serving.
Pray for the discipline and self-control to not devour all in one sitting.…
Enjoy hot, warm or cold, alone, or with fresh fruit…and if you are a real Trini, eat it with Dhalpourie roti...:-)
Happy Diwali from my family to yours. May good always triumph over evil, knowledge over ignorance, hope over despair and light over darkness….
Cooking with love,
Ria
Other recipes you may love:
Curry Chaitaigne (Breadnut)
Barfi
Trinidad Sweet Rice Recipe (Caribbean Rice Pudding)
Rice pudding, referred to as “sweet rice” in Trinidad is another one of our popular desserts. Rice is cooked with ginger and spices and three types of milk to produce a classic, creamy, rice pudding. I recall that “sweet rice” was mostly served and eaten at religious functions including Hindu 'prayers', but there are many of us who enjoy it occasionally at home.
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Servings: 8
Calories: 197kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup Jasmine rice rinsed well and drained
- 5 cups water or more if required
- 2 cinnamon sticks or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
- 2 inch ginger grated, or more to your preference
- 8 cardamom slightly crushed
- 8 cloves optional
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 can condensed milk
- 1/4 cup sugar optional
Instructions
- Wash rice with several changes of water until water is clear. Drain.
- In a medium stock pot, add water, rice, cinnamon stick, cardamom, ginger and cloves if using. Bring to a boil over high heat uncovered. Once it comes to a boil, immediately reduce heat to medium low. Cook until rice is cooked but still firm, about 15-20 minutes. If it's still not soft and tender after that time, add additional 1 cup of water and continue to cook.
- Add whole milk and cook until most of the milk is absorbed (about 5-10 minutes), stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
- Add evaporated milk and cook, stirring constantly, until that boils down, about 5-10 minutes, maybe more depending on your burner.
- Add condensed milk and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens but not totally evaporated, another 10-20 minutes. I recommend cooking on a very low heat until the color begins to darken slightly. This way the flavors develop even further. Always check to make sure the bottom is not burning.
- Remove cinnamon stick (and whole cardamoms and cloves if you used those ingredients) before serving.
- Enjoy hot, warm or cold, alone, or with fresh fruit…and if you are a real Trini, eat it with Dhalpuri roti.
Video
Notes
The technique is very similar to that used in making Risotto, which involves the gradual addition of liquid and constant stirring. I used Jasmine rice but you can definitely try it with white rice, however, do not add milk until the rice is cooked.
The senior cooks in my family claim that the rice does not boil well using milk. If for some reason the rice is still not fully cooked using the four cups of water, add additional water(in ¼ cup increments) until it is fully cooked. This recipe can be modified depending on the consistency you prefer. For a thicker consistency, cook longer allowing more liquid to be evaporated, if you like a more liquid consistency, cook for less time.
When I used one cup of condensed milk, Mummy claimed it wasn't sweet enough, so please, for the love of God, add more condensed milk and make Mummy happy! She also said it could use a little more ginger, so ginger lovers, feel free to add more.
Optional ingredients(use any or all of the following): 3 whole cloves, ½ cup raisins, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
When doubling the recipe I used 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of the additional condensed milk and it was equally delicious.
When doubling the recipe I used 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of the additional condensed milk and it was equally delicious.
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 177mg | Iron: 1mg
Thank you so much for this recipe and the detail, funny explanations and pictures! Thank you for taking the time to do this from your busy lifestyle. I have been enjoying and trying your recipes for a while, but took the the time to comment and say thank you. You really help novice cooks like my self! So thank you and happy Diwali to you and your family as well and many good blessings! Please keep posting more recipes.
This is THE BEST sweet rice recipe! My husband and I both love it and I’ve fixed it several times now. All my previous “sweet” rice recipes ended up in the circular file cabinet. I follow this recipe exactly as written and use all the optional ingredients except the sugar. The only problem I’ve had is sometimes I can’t find all the cardamom pods at the end 😉 They look just like the golden raisins. Plus, I love Ria’s notes, especially what Mummy says about the sweetness! Thank you for a wonderful recipe, I’m so glad I found your site and look forward to trying more recipes.