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Arroz con leche
Creamy cinnamon rice pudding, served warm or chilled
Arroz con leche is Mexico's comfort pudding, sold in little cups at markets and made in every grandmother's kitchen: rice cooked first in water with a cinnamon stick (canela) and lime peel, then slowly in milk until it turns thick and creamy. Mexicans often add sweetened condensed milk for a richer, caramel-tinged finish, and raisins for those who like them. It is eaten warm in winter and cold from the fridge in summer, dusted with ground cinnamon. Chef's tip: use soft Ceylon cinnamon (canela) if you can find it; its gentle, floral flavour is what makes it taste Mexican rather than like a spiced pudding.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Rinse 5 ½ oz long-grain white rice in a sieve under cold water for 30 seconds and drain. A quick rinse removes loose starch so the pudding is creamy, not gluey.
1 minStep 2: Put the rice, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 lime peel and 500 ml water in a heavy-based saucepan. A heavy pan spreads the heat and is your best defence against scorching later.
1 minStep 3: Bring to the boil, then simmer over a medium-low heat, uncovered, for 10–12 minutes, until the water is almost all absorbed and the grains are swollen and just tender. Cooking in water first lets the rice open up; started in milk it can stay chalky in the middle. The kitchen should smell of cinnamon and lime.
12 minStep 4: Meanwhile warm 4 ¼ cups whole milk in another pan or the microwave until steaming. Adding it warm keeps the pot simmering instead of stopping and starting.
3 minStep 5: Pour the hot milk over the rice, add 1 pinch salt and bring back to a gentle simmer over a medium-low heat.
2 minStep 6: Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom and corners with a heatproof spatula, until the milk has thickened and turned creamy and the rice is very soft. Keep the bubbles small: boiling milk catches and gives the pudding a burnt taste. If you feel it sticking, lower the heat and don't scrape the browned layer into the pudding.
15 minStep 7: Stir in 7 oz sweetened condensed milk, 2 tbsp caster sugar and 1 ⅜ oz raisins and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring. The pudding should look like loose porridge and slowly fall from the spoon.
5 minStep 8: Stop while it is still looser than you want: it thickens a lot as it cools. If it is already thick, stir in a splash of milk.
1 minStep 9: Take off the heat, stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and remove the cinnamon stick and lime peel.
1 minStep 10: To serve warm, spoon into bowls and dust with ¼ tsp ground cinnamon.
1 minStep 11: To serve cold, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, cool and chill for at least 2 hours. Loosen with a little milk before serving and dust with the rest of ¼ tsp ground cinnamon. Keeps 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arroz con leche take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of long-grain white rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
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