- 1 1/2 cups organic brown basmati rice, rinsed well
- 3 1/2 cups water or coocnut milk
- 1 1/2 sticks cinnamon
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
- 1/2 cup currants or raisins
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 cup walnuts or almonds, coarsely chopped and toasted
- 3 tablespoons coconut, flaked and toasted (optional)
- Maple syrup, for drizzling (optional)
I absolutely LOVE rice pudding. I might be addicted. And the kids, they are obsessed with the “Sticky Rice” we get at our favorite local Thai restaurant, Penang. It’s black rice soaked in delicious sweet coconut milk. It turns into this sloppy purple mess of deliciousness. Or maybe the mess is just what the girls make of it. 
But it is fantastic.
So, when I saw an Indian-spiced Basmati rice breakfast cereal in a cookbook, Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker, I knew I had to give it a try. The kids and I should love it, and maybe I’ve found a second rice pudding recipe Mr. Meaty will love! (He loves the sticky rice, but not my Aunt Annie’s traditional rice pudding.) And, since the book is vegetarian and not vegan, I needed to veganize a bit. I knew I needed to use coconut milk to make it delicious like Penang’s, so that was an easy choice.
I also swapped out honey for maple syrup and make the coconut shreds optional, since I don’t keep those on-hand and it should already be coconutty enough with the coconut milk. I think it’s going to be delicious! You can use complete brown rice, but I recommend Brown Rice Quinoa Blend to mitigate the arsenic risk and also to pack this dish full of protein. I also didn’t make it in the slow cooker, opting for my rice cooker instead.
Ingredients
Instructions
You can also use prepared Quinoa Brown Rice Blend in this recipe and eliminate the 3 1/2 cups of water or coconut milk. But, if you start with raw rice/quinoa, place the rice/quinoa and water or coconut milk in your rice cooker and cook on the white rice setting.
Grind the cinnamon, cardamom pods, and nutmeg to a powder in an electric coffee mill or a mortar and pestle.
Add the raisins and spices to the rice and stir in 15 minutes before serving.
Divide the rice among 4 cereal bowls and pour 1/2 cup coconut milk on top of each serving.
Sprinkle each bowl with the toasted coconut and nuts. Drizzle with maple syrup.
http://veggieconverter.com/2012/10/spiced-basmati-rice-breakfast-cereal-vegan.html
The Results
Oh my goodness! Delicious. And the perfect pairing? A Pumpkin Spice (Coconut Milk) Latte. I love the rich flavor combination in the rice and the creaminess of the coconut milk. I left out the raisins in my bowl (adding them in separately to the kids’) because I’m not a fan of hot raisins. Simple, fast and delicious.
Kristi is a former newspaper reporter and editor who is now a vegetarian mom, married to a meat-eating dad and parenting two undecided kids. Join the family on our journey creating whole foods recipes to suit our blended-eater lifestyle. 
