rice pudding with jaggery & star anise

After a lull in summer, a green flag is waved sometime in August, signaling the start of festival season  for me.  It  is a frenzied time where it seems like I have just put away stuff from one festival only to start getting ready for the next!

And food is of course a big part of the festivities, with signature dishes made as an auspicious offering.  On such days, it is a marathon cooking session and if you walked into my kitchen, it would seem like every pot and pan I own has made its way onto the counter 🙂  The special foods cooked for these celebrations varies depending on the region, but a rice pudding in some form or another is common to all.  Be it the Payasam in the south or the Payesh in Bengal or the Kheer and Phirni in the north.  A payasam sweetened with Jaggery is a must in our house and many parts of south India during a special celebration for goddess Lakshmi that falls sometime in August.

Come to think of it, many of the really traditional Indian sweets are often made with jaggery.  Since it is unrefined, the flavor is more robust yet smooth, and depending on whether it came from boiling sugar cane juice or date palm sap or coconut palm, it gives the dish a very unique flavor and color.  I generally use jaggery made from sugarcane but one of these days, would love to try date palm jaggery whose flavor is legendary!

Creamy yet light with caramel-like undertones, the addition of jaggery instead of sugar makes this pudding really special.  Usually eaten as is, but since I always have some leftovers and since it is an offering, letting it spoil or throwing it away is not desirable.  So I am always looking for ways of repackaging it.  In addition to the pudding, I made some paanakam (jaggery and water) that also forms a part of the ritual offering and needed to be used up, so a syrup came to mind.  I think of cardamom as the vanilla of Indian sweets and what I automatically reach for while making desserts, but a small ziploc of star anise in the corner caught my eye and I decided to go off the beaten path:) This was one of those times when I made up the dish as I went along.  Some Italian plums were sliced really thin and topped the rice pudding along with a sprinkling of jaggery powder.

Under the broiler for a few minutes until golden brown and bubbly ( I did let this brown a little longer  in my quest for the perfect shot) and what came out was a rice pudding brulee that was a delight for the eyes and absolutely delicious!

Serve this warm or at room temperature with a little jaggery-star anise syrup.  Cardamom or cinnamon would also make a nice substitute.  This is truly quite a stunning dessert and I am now looking for excuses to make the rice pudding again – festival or not!

Rice Pudding with Jaggery & Star Anise

(Makes 2 1/4 cups when cooked)

Printable Recipe

Rice Pudding:

1/4 cup Basmati rice
2 1/2 cups milk (1% or 2%)
1 tbsp golden raisins
1/4 to 1/2 cup jaggery

Syrup:

1/2 cup jaggery
1 cup water
2  whole star anise

Topping:

Any fruit of your choice, very thinly sliced, and some jaggery powder.  I think fresh figs would be great too.

For the syrup:

Add the jaggery and water in a small pan and bring to a boil.  Add the star anise and boil for approx. 10 mins until the volume reduces to 1/2 cup.

For the pudding :

Rinse the rice thoroughly.  Soak in 1 cup of water for 10 mins.

Boil the rice, uncovered, in a medium size pan until the water is almost evaporated.  This took me 10 mins.

Add 1 cup milk and and boil over a medium flame.  When the milk is fully absorbed (about 10 mins), add the raisins and 1 cup of milk and cook for about 8 mins, until most of the milk is absorbed.

Add the 1/4 to 1/2 cup jaggery, depending on sweet you like it.  I added 1/4 plus 1/8 cup since I was also adding some as a topping and using some of the syrup.  Add another 1/2 cup of milk.

Boil for another 2-3 mins until it comes to a boil.  The pudding will be creamy and should not be runny.  You will get approx. 2 1/4 cups of the rice pudding.

Transfer to a greased, oven-safe dish.  Arrange the fruit slices over the pudding and sprinkle some jaggery powder.

Turn on the oven on the broil setting.  Put the pudding under the broiler just until it gets hot and bubbly.  Pour a little bit of the syrup on top.

Enjoy!