Coconut Pandan Shir Berenj

This recipe was written in collaboration with Emily of The Rangoon Sisters, for a solidarity bakesale about which I have written on Substack.

Ingredients:

225g basmati rice (not rinsed– we want the starch here)

½ tsp fine sea salt

6  frozen pandan leaves (10-20g), thawed and roughly chopped

2 400ml cans full-fat coconut milk

1 397ml can of sweetened condensed milk

Method:

Add the rice and salt to a medium saucepan along with 450ml of water. Bring the water to a boil over a high heat before partially covering the pan with its lid, reducing the heat to low and letting the rice cook for 5-7 minutes, or until nearly all the water has been absorbed. 

Meanwhile, add the chopped pandan leaves and coconut milk to a blender. Blend for 30-40 seconds, or until fully blended. Then, use a fine-mesh sieve to drain blender contents into a large mixing bowl. Discard pandan bits. 

To the bowl of now-green coconut milk, scrape in the condensed milk, and mix well. 

Pour the green milk mixture into the saucepan of rice. Mix well to combine. 

Cook your rice pudding uncovered over a low heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring frequently so that the mixture does not burn. You will know the rice is ready to come off the heat when nearly all of the liquid has been absorbed. 

Set your pudding aside to cool slightly if you want to serve it warm. You can of course also let it cool completely, put it in the refrigerator and serve it cold. Either way, top it with fresh jackfruit, dried and candied rose petals.

Enjoy!