Almond Brown Rice Pudding

This recipe was love at first site for me. When I saw the recipe on Whole Foods website, I just had to make it right away. But that right away did not come for another 2 months, even though I was thinking of the dish a lot. It is a simple rice pudding with brown rice, almond milk and pureed dates and I usually have all the ingredients in my pantry & the fridge. What really caught my attention was the use of pureed dates in the recipe and I was imagining the combination of creamy almond milk with the rich sweetness of the dates even before making the dish.

It was so totally worth it when I finally made it, wasn't disappointed at all. It was slightly chewy, sweet and nutty - a perfect balance of taste & texture -- totally awesome. I used Lion brand date syrup that I brought back from India instead of pureeing the dates. I also used long grain brown rice, but short grain rice would probably make a more creamier rice pudding. So if you want to make this dish, try to get some short grain brown rice.

Recipe adapted from Whole Foods website.

Ingredients:

Brown rice - 1cup (preferably short grain, but long grain would work just fine)

Almond milk - 4½cups (start with 4 cups and add the rest if needed)
Date Syrup** - 1/3cup (or more if you like it sweeter)
Raisins - ¼cup
Dried Cranberries - ¼cup
Ground Cinnamon - ¼tsp
Almond extract - ½tsp
Vanilla extract - 1tsp
Slivered Almonds - ½ cup, chopped

Method:

• Bring rice and 4 cups of almond milk to a boil in a saucepan; lower the heat to medium low and cook until the rice is cooked and has almost absorbed the almond milk, stirring occasionally, takes about 45 minutes. I had to add an additional ½cup of milk for the rice to be completely cooked.
• Stir in date syrup, raisins, craisins, almond extract, vanilla extract, cinnamon, almonds into the rice and serve warm.

** To make date syrup: soak ½cup of pitted dates in ½cup cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Then blend them into a puree along with the soaking liquid.