AI-generated image
Arroz zambito
Arroz zambito: Lima's dark rice pudding cooked with chancaca, raisins and coconut
Lima's Afro-Peruvian kitchens gave the city arroz zambito, the dark cousin of arroz con leche: rice simmered with cloves and cinnamon, sweetened with chancaca instead of white sugar, and enriched with milk, coconut and raisins. The name refers to its deep brown colour, and it is sold in cups at markets and from carts alongside mazamorra morada, often half and half in the same cup. It tastes of molasses and spice, soft and creamy with chewy raisins and nuggets of coconut. The way it usually goes wrong is adding the chancaca too soon, before the rice is tender; the sugar firms the grains and they never soften. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with cinnamon. Chancaca can be swapped for panela or dark muscovado. Chef's tip: melt the chancaca in a little water first and strain it, as the blocks often contain bits of cane fibre.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 7 oz white rice, 3 cups water, 1 cinnamon stick and 4 cloves in a heavy pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a low heat, stirring now and then, until the rice is very soft and most of the water is absorbed, 25 minutes.
25 minStep 2: Meanwhile, melt 9 oz chancaca with the rest of ¾ cup water in a small pan over a medium heat, stirring, until dissolved into a dark syrup, 5 minutes. Strain it.
5 minStep 3: Remove the spices from the rice. Stir in the syrup and 1 ¾ cups evaporated milk and cook over a low heat, stirring often, until the pudding is thick and creamy and coats the spoon, 15–20 minutes.
20 minStep 4: Stir in 2 ½ oz raisins, 1 ¾ oz desiccated coconut and ⅔ oz butter and cook for 3 more minutes, until the raisins plump.
3 minStep 5: Spoon into bowls or cups, scatter with 1 ⅜ oz pecans or walnuts if using and dust with ½ tsp ground cinnamon. Serve warm or at room temperature; it thickens as it cools.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arroz zambito take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 50 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.
- What can I use instead of white rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Custard sauce
Proper pouring custard made the easy way with custard powder. It's thick, smooth and lightly sweet, just right with apple pie, crumbles, fruit salad and trifle. Serve it warm, or chill it for trifles.
British
Chocolate sauce
A thick, glossy chocolate sauce made from store-cupboard cocoa and milk, ready in under 10 minutes. Pour it hot over vanilla ice cream, or let it cool and spread it on cakes and puddings.