Chocolate and caramel rice pudding

Chocolate and caramel rice pudding is a super indulgent dessert where good old kheer gets a modern avatar with this simple elegant layered glass of chocolate and caramel rice pudding. Cooked the way my grand ma used to make it, this slow cooked, extremely creamy glass of rice pudding is perfect to serve anytime of the week, and its the perfect entertainment dessert too. Topped here with almond flakes, fresh ripe mango and cherries for a fresher, summery take. 

“The happiest days are when kids come into the world” , proclaimed Rhett Butler. Proud and saint like all of a sudden, with the arrival of his heart throb, his little daughter. Every time I think of my little brother and his new born angel, these are the words that echo in my mind. To say that he is a proud and happily grinning father is an understatement of the century. To say that we are head over heels in love with the little bundle of preciousness is but obvious. Rhett Butler, the man of my adolescent crushes definitely had it all figured out. Happiest days are definitely when kids come into the world.

So by now you guys must have figured out I am suffering from a serious case of baby fever. I just returned from a visit to my family and happily lost my heart to my little one month old niece. The moment I held her, my teary glazed eyes looked over her tiny and perfect face and searched for signs of my brother, the other kid of the house. Suddenly he was a dad, a papa!! As I stood transfixed with her warm body in my arms, it all came back to me. The heady fragrance of babies, the sheer lightness of their body, how amazingly precious they made you feel when they smiled at you and how your world turns upside down when they look at you!! Gosh.. I was transported to the day when BabyD was a new born, an itty bitty little thing and the family had convened together for her christening ceremony, much like we had for the christening of my niece. The fact that my daughter, my darling D was a didi, an elder sibling at 4 wasn’t lost on me or her!

As we welcome you into the world my love, there are so many things I want to tell you, so many things I wanna whisper into your ears. I want you to know that you have brought so much joy to us, the entire family and how incredibly blessed we feel at having two angels in our family now! Your sweet nature is evident even now, just like your parents, you are calmness personified. Just as my D is as vivacious as me, you my darling lil S are serene like your father. This calmness is priceless. I want to tell you that in this world filled with hatred and strife, only thing left for us to do is be kind. Be kind, in whatever you do, whoever you meet. It doesn’t cost a thing but is the most priceless emotion there is. Learn to be yourself..laugh and smile at whatever amuses you, but never at anyone’s expense. Learn things! Read , read & read. I hope you will get bitten by the reading bug just like me and your other aunt. I hope you learn to enjoy books and love them. I hope babyD and you share your books just like me and my sister do. I hope you prize your books above any jewelry you own, just like me and your grandparents.

Life is beautiful, learn to enjoy every second of it. I am sure your parents will drive themselves mad worrying about every little thing you go through, to them, I am going to give this one tiny piece of suggestion “enjoy her, enjoy the priceless joy that little S is”, everything else is temporary. Everything else will change, but the joy a child brings is unconditional and forever.

As we sat in front of the Gods that day, the whole family brought together in a stronger bond, I prayed for you. For a life filled with possibilities and happiness, for a world of hope and joy for you, of peace and good health. And when we named you Sia, I knew you would be everything we hope you will be, coz after all your name itself means Victory.

As is the tradition, Indians make kheer or rice pudding on every auspicious occasion. Although my Grandma’s kheer is pretty sensational, for your one month birthday I wanted to celebrate with something rather special, like you. That is how this chocolate and caramel rice pudding happened. Made of chocolate and caramel, this rice pudding is creamy, sweet and rich. Celebrating season fresh mangoes and cherries, I turned the humble desi kheer into a dessert fit for summer entertaining in even the poshest of company. Choose to layer with both caramel and chocolate, top with toasted almond flakes for crunch, fresh fruits and chocolate shavings, this glass of chocolate and caramel rice pudding was simply mind blowingly delicious. It takes over 2 hours to cook but thats coz I love to do it old fashioned way in a slow cooker. You can hasten the process a bit if you are short on time, although I would suggest not cutting corners with this rice pudding.

[bctt tweet=”Give good old kheer a fun new twist with this delicious and creamy chocolate & caramel rice pudding with fresh mangoes, cherry and toasted almond flakes!” username=”Lapetitchef”]

This chocolate and caramel rice pudding is a perfect way to say goodbye to summer and mangoes, yet a dessert that can be enjoyed anytime of the year. Served warm or cold, it is just as delicious. you can choose to top it with your favorites fruits, pistachios and rose would be amazing together, as would hazelnut in it. I love contrasting textures in dishes, and hence you will get creamy rich sweetness from the dark chocolate, hint of bitterness from the caramel. Almond flakes add a much needed new dimension or texture with their crunchiness and the fruits on top are a must if you want to make it a seem a little lighter and fresh. Overall, this eats beautifully and everyone simply loved it. P even had it for breakfast the next day and that’s saying something! 

Give your same old rice pudding or kheer a break and try this new fun avatar with this delicious dark chocolate and caramel rice pudding. I am sure you wont regret it. 

Xo,

S. 

5.0 from 5 reviews

Chocolate and caramel rice pudding

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours 30 mins

 

Chocolate and caramel rice pudding is a super indulgent dessert where good old kheer gets a modern avatar with this simple elegant layered glass of chocolate and caramel rice pudding, topped with fresh mango, cherries and toasted almond flakes.

Author: Lapetitchef

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the rice pudding:

• Small grained rice (Basmati won’t do) -1/4 cup
• Full fat milk 1.5L
• Sugar 8-10 Tbsp (we like it sweet, so adjust as per taste)
• Green Cardamom 4 (use only the seeds
• Dark chocolate 75gms.
• Granulated sugar for the caramel 4 tsp
• Ghee/ Clarified butter 1 tsp

For garnish:

• Pistachios – handful
• Almond Flakes – handful
• Fresh mango sliced thin
• Fresh cherry
• Chocolate shavings

Instructions

for the rice pudding:

1. Clean the rice thoroughly and set it aside soaking in water for 30 mins.
2. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan. Make sure its a heavy bottomed deep pan.. Mine is the typical milk boiling pan with a copper bottom.
3. Once the milk has boiled, add the crushed cardamom seeds to it.
4. Next add the washed and drained rice to the milk and give it a stir.
5. Leave this on a low flame for about an hour..remembering to keep stirring every once in a while.
6. While stirring make sure you do it from the bottom and the sides as well.
7. After about an hour, the milk would have begun to thicken and the rice cooked.
8. Now add the sugar and stir really well.
9. Leave it on for another 30 minutes till it reaches a creamy consistency..
10. Taste for sweetness.
11. Remove half of this into another pot.

For the dark chocolate rice pudding:

1. Immediately add the chopped dark chocolate to this half of the kheer.
2. Stir till the chocolate melts and is mixed thoroughly.Set aside to cool completely.

'Next for the caramel rice pudding :

1. In a small tempering pan, add the ghee and the granulated sugar. Put it on medium high heat and let the sugar caramelize. It should turn brown at the edges first, Slowly shake the pan , don't mix with a spoon.
2. Keep shaking till the entire sugar has caramelized and reached a deep amber color.
3. DO NOT let it burn!! Be careful and dont leave this unattended.
4. As soon as the sugar is amber colored, pour into the other half of the kheer and stir vigorously till the caramel had mixed. The kheer turns into a nice pinkish color.
5. Leave aside to cool. Set in fridge till cold.

For serving:

1. I like layering dessert glasses with this rice pudding , adding some almond flakes to it. Garnish with a mango rose (slices of mango arranged in a rose like pattern), few fresh cherries, chopped salted pistachio and a few chocolate shavings.
2. Serve cold!
3. Enjoy.

3.5.3208