Traditional Romanian Rice Pudding

I have so many sweet memories with this traditional Romanian rice pudding or “orez cu lapte” how we call it, which basically means rice with milk.

This was one of my go to breakfasts before going to school or a Sunday treat after lunch or dinner.

And nothing beats that smell of cinnamon sprinkled on top of the pudding on a chilly autumn morning, am I right?

Actually reading a bit more about rice pudding, I noticed this is a staple recipe for so many countries, with really small variations.

And this is kind of cool to see so many people relating to it, because this means to me that food is pretty much the same everywhere in the world. Isn’t it a cool thing? 🙂

Somehow the tradition of making rice pudding in my family was put on the side in the past years, but I felt like it was time to resurrect it and bring back some memories and amazing flavours.

So I called my mom the other day to get her advice on how’s best to achieve a creamy and rich rice pudding.

While I’ve seen so many recipes online which are boiling the rice before adding the milk, my mom, and I agreed that in order to have a really creamy, thick, but not a dry pudding, the best is to cook the rice in the milk.

One thing I’d like tough to mention about the process of cooking the rice directly into the milk.
If in this recipe you’ll use the same type of rice you prefer to cook other dishes with, mind that it might need a bit more time to cook, than boiling it in water.

For this rice pudding I chose a whole milk, with 3.5% fat, so the pudding reaches a nice and creamy consistency. But any skimmed or semi skimmed milk will work just as well.
And I promise I’ll come back with a vegan option too, as I’m really curious about the outcome.

If you have any preferences, or tried some other rice pudding recipes, feel free to drop me a comment and share your ideas 🙂

Cooking the rice pudding requires a minimum amount of effort, as everything happens in the same pot.

Once cooked, you’re free to season it as you like: cinnamon on top, cardamom, nutmeg, honey or maple syrup.

I’ll leave you now with the recipe.

Don’t forget to drop me a comment if you try out this recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Love,

Cori

Print Recipe

Traditional Romanian Rice Pudding

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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By Cori Costache – Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 25 mins

My sweet childhood dessert

Ingredients

• 1 litre milk 3.5 % fat
• 1 cup (200g) round grain rice or milk rice
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp dried lemon zest
• 1 tsp cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Instructions

1

Pour the milk from the container into a larger pot and bring to a boil on low medium heat. Watch the milk as when it starts to boil, has the tendency to puff up and will spill over the pot.

2

Once the milk is boiling add the rice. Continue stirring to avoid scorching.

3

Cook or about 20-25 minutes or until the rice is cook and the pudding thickens. The milk should have been reduce with 1/3 by now.

4

Add the honey, cardamom and the lemon zest. Stir well and let it rest with the lid on for 1-2 minutes.

5

Serve warm with cinnamon on top.

Notes

Keep refrigerated up to 2 days.