My bestie said I am becoming more Swedish than a Swede.
Out of the blue, I don't know why I started thinking about risgrynsgröt (rice pudding). It has been a while since I have had it. I couldn't exactly remember who introduced me to this delicious mellanmål (snack). Perhaps I introduced it to myself while I was grocery shopping at the ICA at Täby Centrum.
Photo: hemtrevligt.se
This rice pudding is served warm, traditionally with some sprinkles of cinnamon, some would have it with sugar and a small knob of butter. I like to have mine with strawberry jam or drottningsylt (Queen's jam).
Some Swedes may argue that this pudding is served at breakfast and some would say this is a snack. Some Swedes would even say that risgrynsgröt is eaten best at Christmas while some say you can have it any day, every day. It doesn't really matter when you have it. What is important is, that you enjoy this creamy pudding with your favourite toppings.
So, since I craved it for no reason, I searched for the recipe on the ArlaMat app on my phone, and I found 2 different recipes. One recipe calls for läntmjölk or sometimes it is called gammaldags mjölk which, according to my trusted research "elf", is country milk or non-emulsified milk. Yes, in Sweden, you can find different types of mjölk such as lättmjolk, mellanmjölk and standardmjölk. And yes, I was overwhelmed and confused by the different dairy products I saw at the supermarket. Anyway, this would be a topic for another day. Right now, let's get back to the rice pudding.
This is my adaptation of Arla's Risgrynsgröt recipe:
Ingredients
1 2/3dl round grain rice
(since I have some arborio rice in my kitchen, I used them instead)
3 1/3dl water
1/3 tsp salt
5 1/3dl milk
(if you are lactose intolerant, substitute it with lactose-free milk)
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/3 tbsp butter
2/3 tbsp granulated sugar
(I substitute with caster sugar because I don't have granulated sugar in my kitchen!)
Method
Wash the rice first to make sure there are no weevils.
In a thick-bottomed saucepan, mix the rice, water, buter and salt. Let it boil on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Add milk and cinnamon stick. Let the mixture cook on a very low heat for approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
Dilute with more milk if the porridge becomes too thick.
Taste with sugar and add more accordingly if the porridge is too bland. I added 2 tbsp more caster sugar to the suggested amount in this recipe as it tasted a weee bit bland.
I was quite surprised that it turned out well, and how I liked it. Lagom. I served mine with my homemade mixed berry jam.
Try this recipe and let me know in the comments.
Smaklig måltid!