H E L L O ~ D E L I C I O U S N E S S !
My aaaaalllllll time favourite food while growing up was this – (apart from its fruity counterpart: fresh papaya!)
I was first introduced to this nourishing, exotic, delectable pudding while on holidays in Indonesia with my mum. I also grew up close to an authentic Indonesian restaurant called ‘Masakan Indonesia’ on the Gold Coast ~ my love for black rice pudding was sustained between our family trips to bali and our family dinners at Masakan. :) Such happy , yummy memories! I’m smiling just contemplating those precious black rice days!
Mum and I made it at home also ~ as with anything delicious, it is fun to explore making it for yourself and this also adds to being able to appreciate the subtlety and elegance that chefs go through in order to master their recipes. I loved the ones we made at home and I loved the ones we ate either in Bali or at Masakan.
I recently discovered ORGANIC black rice for sale at my local health food shop. Excitement! :) One of the reasons I had not made my black rice pudding in a while was because I could only find black rice at specific exotic asian grocery stores – and this was not always convenient to find and I really do prefer to eat organic whole foods for optimum nutrition and care of myself and planet, so buying the non-organic heavily transported type turned me off a bit.
The second reason I stopped buying or making black rice pudding is because the bought ones in restaurants often have loads of sugar in them (as delicious as they are!). This turns me off. I have a new respect and awareness of sugar these days since reading ‘Sweet Poison’ by David Gillespie (great easy read!) and also since studying nutrition and the way food affects our immune system, mental functioning and emotions. Black rice tastes so good with sugar – these days I like to use WHOLE-FOOD sweeteners as much as possible.
My Favourite Wholefood Sweeteners:
- Medjool dates
- Maple Syrup
- Carob
- Honey (not for baking or cooking)
If I’m ever going to use sugar I will choose the most ‘whole’ form I can get such as coconut sugar, rapadura sugar or jaggery. In my ayurvedic studies I learnt that these whole forms of sugar can be good for the body and this is true – at certain times and in certain instances, some whole sugar can be medicine. On the whole though – for me personally I feel cleaner, clearer and have more energy when I keep to my natural WHOLE FOOD sweetness listed above as even though whole-sugars still have minerals intact, they can still affect the body in a similar way to regular processed sugar as if you think about it – they are still concentrated condensed crystals of energy. It is easy to be addicted to sugar these days so I choose to get myself hooked on more sober tastes and flavours when I want a sweet hit and the list mentioned above generally always does the trick! :)
Organic Sugar-free Black Rice Pudding is now well and truly back on the menu in my kitchen! :)
If you feel like having some tropical ‘Indonesian’ black-rice pudding fun at home, here is my sugar-free + vegan black rice recipe for you to have a play with! :)
Wholesome Vegan Coconut Black Rice Pudding Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup organic black rice
- 3 cups of boiling water
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
- 2 cups of coconut milk
- shredded coconut (to toast and add as a garnish!)
Creation process:
- Rinse your black rice and boil the kettle (it’s always good to give your grains a rinse prior to cooking).
- Place your rice in your pot and add approx 3 cups of boiling water to steam the rice.
- Bring to a boil and place the lid on. Cook until the rice is soft and the water has absorbed.
- Remove from the heat once steamed and add 2 cups of coconut milk, a dash of maple syrup, 2 tsp’s of cinnamon and your love!
- Serve your pudding warm in your favourite bowls and garnish with some fresh banana, papaya, toasted coconut and or a few cheeky raisins.
Voila! So easy, black rice pudding in a flash with whole food ingredients to make this sweety treaty nourishing and delicious! :)
Happy creating in the kitchen!
Love,
x Lorien
