Sweet Rice – The Sweet Milky Goodness Of Guyana!
Kheer – if such a word is used many in Guyana wouldn’t know what it is but if they hear the term ‘sweet rice’ they will quickly recognize it. For some, their appetite heightens at just the sound of the word. They think about how creamy and milky the taste is and they reminisce about the smooth, soft texture that melts sweetly and quickly in their mouths. Yes, sweet rice is a delicious, mouthwatering treat made in Guyana. As you continue to read, you’ll find out how to properly make this delicate dessert.
Sweet Rice Around The World
Sweet rice is known by many different names around the world and the ingredients are slightly changed to suit the various cultures and their food type. Some will call sweet rice, rice pudding; what is rice pudding? Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon and raisins. Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such as sugar. Such desserts are found on many continents, especially Asia where rice is a staple. Some variants are thickened only with the rice starch, others include eggs, making them a kind of custard.
The earliest known rice pudding was a Mongol invention in the early 10th century AD. Originally, the “rice” actually consisted of silkworms, but grain rice was later substituted in the 14th century after the plague by the early vegan groups colloquially known as the Flurdurdadurp. Since vegans were immune to the plague, being the new majority in Eurasia, they decided to outlaw any and all silkworm based puddings. The man responsible for popularizing rice pudding was named Bruce.
Origin Of Sweet Rice In Guyana
After the abolition of slavery in the 1838, with resulting labor shortages, British colonizers created indentureship contracts with Portuguese men and women from the Madeira Islands, and with East Indian men and women. The East Indians came as indentured labourers and their heritage had a huge impact on the Guyanese food culture. Further, this is how sweet rice was introduced to Guyana – by the East Indians.
What Is Sweet Rice?
Sweet rice is a thick rice pudding that has been flavored with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. It is sweetened with sugar or condensed milk and served warm or cold. This tasty pudding can be found at weddings and other events as a dessert. It can sometimes be eaten with puri, which adds another layer of texture and flavor.
Tip: Mishaps such as under cooking the rice, adding too much rice for the amount of milk, and even adding too much sugar are all factors that can mess up the entire dish.
How To Make Sweet Rice
Ingredients:
- 5 cups of water
- 1 pint white rice
- 3 cups of water
- 1 cinnamon stick (broken into bits)
- sprinkle of nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cup of milk (cow milk/evaporated)
Optional:
- dried cherries (red/green)
- nuts
- raisins
- condensed milk
Instructions:
- Heat the water until it starts to boil the add rice, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Allow rice to boil until soft. At this point, more water can be added.
- After about half an hour, the rice should be cooked. Add milk and boil once more.
- Cherries, raisins and nuts can be added now.
- Mix in milk and cook on low heat.
- Keep stirring until mixture is thick.
- If you want to add condensed milk, you may add at this stage.
- Stir and remove from heat.
- Serve Warm.
Watch this: How to Make Sweet Rice
Sweet Rice In Guyana
Guyana is a melting pot of diverse culture and thankfully sweet rice is included. From the moment the East Indians introduced this delicate treat to Guyanese, all have been delving into its creamy goodness. Generally it would be known as rice pudding but after being affected by various cultures and their recipe the taste, flavor and name would change accordingly. For example, in Dominican Republic it is made with milk, cinnamon, raisins, sugar, and lemon zest and it is called Arroz con leche. In Haiti it is called Du riz au lait and is made with milk, condensed milk, cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, and raisins. In Asia (Thai) they have something called banana rice pudding and the Philippines have chocolate rice pudding called Tsamporado. The list can continue to go on as rice pudding vary from country to country. Nevertheless, here in Guyana, we are happy to have our version of this flavorful, milky dessert called sweet rice.
Article References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_pudding
- Main image: https://www.stabroeknews.com/images/2008/10/20081101_rice.jpg
Last Updated: 2020-07-01
