Riz B Haleeb ~ Lebanese Rice Pudding

Rice based puddings are common all over the globe and have been cooked for ages. Rice getting cooked in a mixture of milk and sugar remains the basic theme. The additional ingredients like eggs or the slight regional variations in terms of thickeners or flavoring agents keep each one of them distinct, giving them a local flair. Today's rice pudding called 'riz b haleeb' comes from Lebanon, which literally means rice in milk. The addition of orange blossom water is what that makes this pudding Lebanese. Riz b haleeb is a yummy pudding with faint undertones of orange blossom water.

Orange blossom water is water distilled with the essence of fresh flowers from bitter orange trees. In fact it is what that prompted me to try this pudding as I had plenty of orange blossom water lying in my refrigerator. The flavor of orange blossom water in this pudding is somewhat subtle without overpowering the dessert. It is a thick, creamy dessert that is delicious and can be prepared with minimal efforts. I would recommend this dessert to rice pudding / kheer lovers.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup rice
2 cups milk
Sugar to taste
1 tbsp. corn flour
1 tsp. orange blossom water
Pistachios to garnish

Directions:
* Rinse rice with water and drain.
* Add rice and milk to a thick bottomed pot and cook on medium flame, stirring intermittently. Leave a ladle in the pot so that the milk doesn't boil over. 
* Cook until the rice softens, about 20 minutes or so. Add sugar and stir until it melts. 
* Mix corn flour with little water / milk (that is at room temperature), without any lumps.
* Next add orange blossom water and corn flour to the rice pot. Keep stirring for about five minutes or until the pudding becomes thicker. (One can add or minus the corn flour quantity depending upon the required consistency of the kheer.)
* Divide the mixture between serving cups and chill.
* Garnish with pistachios before serving.

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