Coconut Rice Pudding

Recently, my sister-in-law made some pretty awesome cupcakes that were flavored with pistachios, cardamom and rosewater! I often use saffron and cardamom in my desserts (especially a ton of cardamom!), but I had never used rose-water, especially in combination with pistachios and saffron and cardamom. So, I was inspired to recreate those flavors with a simple rice-pudding. This rice pudding is thickened with unsweetened coconut milk and flavored with plenty of Indian and Middle-Eastern spices - cardamom, saffron, pistachios and rose water.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

1. 2 cups raw rice
2. 16 ounces unsweetened coconut milk (2 cans)
3. 1/2 cup chopped toasted pistachios
4. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
5. 2 teaspoons rose water
6. a pinch of saffron
7. 1/4 cup sugar (or up to 1/2 cup for extra sweetness)
8. 1/2 - 1 cup hot milk (as needed to dilute the pudding)
9. pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice with 5 cups of water until it is soft. Fluff the rice with a fork. 
2. Transfer the cooked rice to a medium sauce-pan and add the coconut milk and sugar. Heat the pudding over low-medium heat, stirring frequently to mix the rice and coconut milk. Heat for about 20 minutes.
3. Next, add the cardamom powder, saffron and pinch of salt and mix well. Simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of hot milk (more or less) to dilute the pudding a little because it thickens at room temperature. 
5. Garnish with chopped pistachios and rose water. Mix well.

Serve! Keep some warm milk at hand before serving, because the pudding does thicken over time.