Serves 8
1 cup long grain rice
2 cinnamon sticks
Finely grated lemon zest from three lemons
3 whole cloves
4 cups water
1 egg
3 cups milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk (12 – 14 ounces)
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
½ cup raisins
In a large pot, place rice, cinnamon, lemon zest, cloves and water. Let soak for 1 hour.
Bring to a boil, uncovered. When it starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 – 12 minutes, or until almost all the water has been absorbed.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg and add the milk. Mix well.
Add the egg mixture, vanilla and the condensed milk to the rice. Stir continuously and let simmer on low heat until the rice thickens slightly, or until it has reached the desired consistency, maybe as long as 25 – 35 minutes, depending on whether the rice is parboiled or not.
Fold in the raisins.
Let the rice cool uncovered. Remember that the rice will swell as it cools off. The rice should be somewhat less dense than traditional rice pudding.
This is an amazing – and very sweet – Spanish/Mexican dessert. Perfect after a jalapeño-rich dinner, when the heat needs to be taken down a notch.