Sutlac - Turkish Rice Pudding

Ingredients

1 litre whole milk
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk, beaten

Method

First, wash the rice and place it in a large saucepan with enough water to cover it by about 1.5 cms. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat. Let the rice simmer gently until the rice is soft.

Reserve about one cup of the milk. Add the remaining milk, sugar and vanilla extract to the rice. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it boil very gently for about ten minutes.

Using a whisk, mix together the reserved milk and the cornstarch until it's smooth. While stirring, gradually pour in the milk and starch mixture. Turn up the heat and continue stirring the pudding until scalding.

When the pudding thickens, continue to stir and cook for about two minutes more. Remove from the heat and fill small, oven-proof ramekins with the hot mixture.

Beat the egg yolk with three tablespoons of milk. Using a spoon, drizzle a small amount of the egg yolk mixture in the center of each dessert ramekin. With the back of the spoon, use a light, circular motion to swirl the egg yolk from the center to the edges so it spreads evenly over the top of each cup.

Bake the pudding cups in a 180°C oven until the tops are nicely browned. Let the cups cool at room temperature then refrigerate them for several hours before serving.

Credits: Elizabeth Taviloglu