The Ultimate Rice Cooker (71 page)
The Indian rice pudding
kheer
fills the house with the heady aromas of basmati rice, cardamom, and that elusive hint of rose water. One of the glories of the Indian kitchen, it is smooth, creamy, not overly sweet, and good warm or cold. A sprinkle of nuts adds crunch.
Kheer
is traditionally made by boiling lots of milk and a small quantity of rice on the stove until the milk is reduced and the pudding thick. How much milk? Recipes vary, but the ratio of rice to milk can be as high as 1 part rice to 24 parts milk! No wonder the process can take more than an hour, with frequent stirring an absolute necessity. Worse, the pot with milk residue stuck to the bottom is no fun at all to clean. In your rice cooker, you can make authentic-tasting
kheer
with no fuss at all. A gentle swish in cold, soapy water cleans the pot. After months of experimentation, we settled on this recipe, adapted from one on the website of the Tilda Company, which sells excellent imported basmati rice. The whipped cream is not essential, but a lovely touch. You can find rose water in gourmet markets or Indian or Middle Eastern markets.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
⅔ cup white basmati rice
4 cups whole milk
⅔ cup sugar
4 green cardamom pods
2 teaspoons rose water
⅓ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup dark raisins
2 tablespoons roughly chopped unsalted pistachios
1. Rinse the rice and drain it well.
2. Place the rice, milk, sugar, and cardamom pods in the rice cooker bowl. Stir briefly with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, open the cover and remove the bowl. Let the
kheer
cool for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the pudding. Remove the cardamom pods. Stir in the rose water. Transfer the pudding to a serving bowl, if desired, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator until cool but not cold, about 1 hour.
4. Whip the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold the cream into the pudding along with the raisins and most of the pistachios. Sprinkle a few chopped pistachios atop each serving.
Chocolate in rice pudding is not traditional, but oh so perfect for dessert. This is a great recipe to use up leftover rice. Serve straight out of the rice cooker with some whipped cream or nondairy whipped topping, as desired.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: Serves 4
½ cup sugar
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
1¼ cups milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup cooked medium-grain white rice
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In a medium-size bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Whisking constantly, beat in the milk, half-and-half, and egg. Pour the mixture into the rice cooker bowl. Add the rice and chocolate; stir to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle, stirring every 15 minutes, if you remember (it works perfectly well without!).
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, open the cooker and stir in the vanilla. Spoon the pudding into 4 custard cups or ramekins. Let cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.
FRUIT DESSERTS
Poached fresh and dried fruit have a charm all their own. Depending on the type of fruit, they can be poached whole, halved, or in pieces, in a thick or thin sugar syrup. You can make a compote out of a single fruit or combination of two or more fruits, called a compote compose. They are just plain gorgeous in a serving bowl surrounded by their syrup. While poached prunes are the most familiar cooked dried fruit, relegated sadly to the breakfast table, all sorts of other dried fruits lend themselves well to the gentle cooking and sweet aromatic bath required for a nice compote.
The Porridge cycle on the fuzzy logic machines serves us well again, keeping the shape of the fruit intact and giving the time necessary to mull the cooking juices to perfection without extra soaking or fuss. Fruits can be poached in water, wine, or fruit juice, or a combination thereof. While the fruits are poached in a varying amount of sugar syrup, you never want to add too much sugar or honey; it will detract from the natural flavors and sweetness inherent in the fruit, as well as contribute to breaking down the fruit, unless, of course, that is what you want, as in the case of applesauce.
Compotes are so popular that there is a special glass or porcelain raised footed bowl just for serving them called a compotier. Using a slotted spoon, place the fruits in the bowl and pour the syrup over them. Poached fruits are traditionally served still gently warm with whipped cream, but are also good cold, served over ice cream or as a garnish to vanilla cheesecake and a battery of plain old-fashioned cakes such as angel food cake, sponge cake, gold cake, and pound cake. Try one of our poached fruit recipes and we think you will be delightfully surprised.
Who doesn’t love homemade applesauce? Canned just doesn’t come close. The Porridge cycle on the rice cooker makes great fruit sauce. We love our applesauce with lots of cinnamon. You can add the sugar or not; Julie likes hers sweet, Beth likes hers without sugar. Serve for breakfast with yogurt, alongside pork chops for dinner, or warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: About 3 cups
8 large, firm, tart green apples (2½ to 3 pounds)
½ cup water or apple juice
¼ cup sugar (optional)
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to your taste
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
1. Peel, core, and coarsely chop the apples. Place in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water, sugar (if using), cinnamon, and butter. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, carefully open the cover, allowing the steam to escape. Stir the cooked fruit and its liquid with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. The applesauce should be soft and chunky (you can puree it in a food processor or with an immersion blender if you like it smooth). Let stand to cool.
3. Transfer the applesauce to a covered container and refrigerate. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator (if it lasts that long), or freeze.
pear applesauce:
Use 4 apples and 4 large, firm ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
black cherry applesauce:
Use 6 apples and add one 16-ounce bag frozen unsweetened pitted dark sweet cherries. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
apricot applesauce:
Add 4 to 6 fresh apricots, pitted and chopped, or 6 to 8 dried apricot halves to the apples. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
rhubarb applesauce:
Use 5 apples and 2 cups fresh rhubarb cut into 1-inch pieces (½ pound). Substitute grated orange zest for the cinnamon. Increase the sugar to ½ cup. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
ginger applesauce:
Add 2 heaping tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
cranberry applesauce:
Use 6 apples and 1½ cups fresh cranberries, picked over for stems. Increase the sugar to ⅔ cup. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
mango applesauce:
Use 6 apples and add 1 to 2 fresh mangos, peeled, pitted, and chopped. No sugar is necessary, as the mangos are very sweet. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
plum applesauce:
Use 4 apples and 6 firm ripe purple plums, pitted and cut into chunks. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
poached dried figs in spiced red wine
During the holidays it is really special to end up at a party where a simmering kettle filled with red wine and whole spices is on the stove for guests. That heartwarming flavor was the inspiration for this delightful and fantastic poached winter fruit compote known as
compote de figues seches
in France. Everyone who tastes it asks for more. While it looks like you have a lot of juice just as the compote completes its Porridge cycle, the fruit will absorb more and become syrupy when chilled. Serve gently warm over vanilla gelato or ladled on the side of a slice of New York– style cheesecake.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: About 4 cups
1½ cups dry red wine, such as Merlot
1½ cups apple juice or pear juice
⅓ cup honey
3 cloves
3 allspice berries
One 4-inch cinnamon stick
One 12-ounce package dried Calimyrna figs, left whole
⅔ cup golden raisins (or use half dried tart cherries)
1. Place all the ingredients in the rice cooker bowl. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle. Carefully open the cover twice during the cooking to allow a burst of steam to be released from the wine burning off its alcohol.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, carefully open the cover, allowing the steam to escape. The fruit should be plump and tender. Stir with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Remove the bowl from the cooker and let cool. Pour the figs into a storage container, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Poached dried apricot compote is a must for a quick dessert that will not only delight, but surprise the taste buds. It is delicious! Serve cold with a spoonful of sour cream on top or with a slice of pound cake. Use the largest, moistest apricot halves you can find.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic only
CYCLE: Porridge
YIELD: About 3 cups
1½ cups white wine, such as Gerwurztraminer or Riesling
1½ cups water
¾ cup sugar
3 or 4 strips orange zest
One 4-inch cinnamon stick
One 12-ounce package dried apricot halves
1. Place all the ingredients in the rice cooker bowl. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle. Carefully open the cover twice during the cooking to allow a burst of steam to be released from the wine burning off its alcohol.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, carefully open the cover, allowing the steam to escape. The fruit halves should be plump and tender. Re move the bowl from the cooker and let cool. Pour the apricots into a storage container, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.