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Sutlac - Turkish Rice Pudding

Rice pudding with a golden top garnished with pistachios in a clay bowl.
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5 from 6 reviews

A super yummy milk-based pudding recipe with rice. No egg or heavy cream is required. It is light, rich and creamy. You can make it ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator for a few days. 

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ cup uncooked rice
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 and ½ cups milk, divided
  • 1 cup sugar
  • zest of a lemon (optional)
  • 2 and 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Cook the rice with water in a large saucepan over medium heat until tender (no need for rinsing the rice before cooking). Rice won't absorb all the water, there will still be some in the pan. And it will look creamy.
  2. Add in milk and sugar and bring it to boil. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat. 
  3. You can add lemon zest at this step.
  4. In a small bowl, make a slurry by whisking together ½ cup milk and 2 tablespoons of corn starch until smooth. Pour it slowly into the simmering rice. Stir the rice constantly while doing this. Keep stirring and let the mixture simmer until it thickens, for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Bake the rice pudding. To do this, remove the pan from heat and pour the hot mixture into individual oven-proof cups like ramekins or clay cups. Place them into an oven tray. Fill half of the oven tray with water so that the pudding has that nice silky skin layer on the top. This will also keep the rice pudding creamy and prevent it from getting dry. 
  6. Carefully place the tray on the top shelf of a preheated oven (at 400F/200C). Bake them uncovered until golden brown. It is even better if you have some burnt bits. Watch their top and remove from the oven when they reach the desired golden color.
  7. Remove from the heat and carefully take the bowls from the tray. Let them completely cool down and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
  8. Optionally, you can top them with nuts like hazelnuts or pistachios.
  9.  

Notes

  1. Don't rinse the rice before cooking as we need that natural starch of rice for a creamy rice pudding. But if you still want to wash it before using, just give it a quick wash under cold water. Don’t try to make it super clean.
  2. You can use cooked rice or leftover rice if you want. Skip the first step (cooking rice) in this case and start right from the second step. 
  3. A creamy rice pudding needs slow cooking. So after adding milk and sugar into the pot, let it simmer slowly over low heat. 
  4. It needs constant stirring after you add corn starch (or rice flour) so that it won't stick to the bottom of the pan. 
  5. You can bake rice pudding in individual disposable aluminum pudding cups if you want.
  6. If they don't get golden brown enough after 15 minutes in the oven, broil them for 3-5 minutes.
  7. It keeps well in the refrigerator for 4 days. 
  8. Freezing is not recommended as the taste and texture won't be as good. It tastes way better for three to four days after it is made. 
  9. To make it vegan, use almond milk, cashew milk or coconut milk. 

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.giverecipe.com/turkish-baked-rice-pudding-recipe/