Spiced rice pudding

THIS spiced rice pudding with pistachio caramel recipe is a humble but pretty pudding, which can be thrown together fairly quickly, using simple ingredients. Serves four.

INGREDIENTS:

100g pudding rice

300-400ml milk

2 green cardamom pods

1 small piece cinnamon stick

1 tbsp golden caster sugar

2 tbsp crème fraîche

For the caramel

200g golden caster sugar

100g shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped

METHOD

Put the rice in a pan with 300ml milk, the spices and the sugar. Bring slowly to the boil and cook over a very low heat, stirring now and again to make sure the rice does not stick to the pan. The rice is cooked until it is fluffy and tender.

You may need a little more milk towards the end of cooking, in case it becomes too dry.

Remove the spices using a fork, then stir in the crème fraîche. Spoon the rice pudding into four bowls and set to one side.

Put the caster sugar in a small pan and add about 50ml water – enough to wet the sugar through. Place over a low heat and bring to the boil slowly so the sugar dissolves before boiling. Boil until the syrup begins to turn a golden colour. As soon as it begins to darken and smell of caramel, take it off the heat and quickly pour a little over each rice pudding.

Scatter over the pistachios, and the puddings are ready to eat. Do not refrigerate them or the caramel will soften.

– The Telegraph