I love foods that carry a kick. In my book, though, a little spice goes a long way; a touch of chili paste or a dash of cayenne is sufficient. I’m one of those people that asks for mild or a heat level of 1 or 2 out of 5. Just enough and I’m in culinary heaven.

But even mildly spicy foods can build up heat over time, and you need some kind of gentle salve to bring the delicious pain back down. One of my favorite desserts to do just this is rice pudding. It’s creamy and sugary, and has a touch of cardamom to give it a different kind of spice. (If you’ve ever been to an Indian restaurant, rice pudding is a pretty standard find on the menu to wrap a spice-filled meal.)

Here is a vegan version of an Indian rice pudding recipe I found online. If you use the same milk replacements I used, you can omit the sugar. It’s sweet enough without it. It’s also a very forgiving recipe, so if you don’t want to use cardamom, try cinnamon instead. Don’t like or have raisins or pistachios? Leave them out or replace them with something else.

Vegan Rice Pudding
Based on the Indian Rice Pudding found on Food Network
Makes approximately 4 small servings

• 1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice
• 1 cup vegan milk
• 1/2 cup vegan milk, vegan creamer or vegan heavy cream alternative
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
• 1/3 cup unsalted pistachios, chopped (optional)

Cook your rice according to the package directions.

I used long grain white rice

Once the rice is ready, in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and first cup of vegan milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil.

Mixing in the first cup of vegan milk

Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.

Starting to thicken

Increase the heat to medium, add the vegan heavy cream alternative and the coconut milk, sugar (if needed) and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping.

Adding in the remaining milks: MimicCreme and coconut cream

I wound up using this sweetened MimicCreme as a substitute for the heavy cream. It’s very sweet, so it’s best to omit the sugar in this recipe if you use this stuff. I also used a sweetened coconut cream, however my first preference would have been for unsweetened coconut milk.

I used this MimicCreme in place of heavy cream

Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios (if using).

Adding golden raisins to the creamy rice mixture

Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding.

Getting ready to chill the rice pudding

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Chilled and ready to eat!

This is really a pretty good recipe, but next time I would use a vegan creamer as a substitute for the heavy cream, and unsweetened coconut milk. I also didn’t use pistachios because I didn’t have them on hand, but I am sure they would have been delicious.

There is just one teensy thing, and I don’t know if it is because of the rice I used or what, but when I had let this chill overnight, the rice seemed to have dried out – which is odd to me, because the rice is sitting in a thick liquid.  When I had a bite right after it was finished cooking, the texture was perfect. So I think that what I’d do next time is plan to make this pudding the same day it would be eaten, then chill it for only a couple of hours at most.

Otherwise this is a delicious pudding and a perfect end to a spicy meal or a hot summer’s day!

Done and yum.

Do you have a favorite rice pudding?

At home, Ushman makes rice and lentils. As he and Farak did when they had many people for dinner, he sits on the rug in the living room, with his bowl in his lap. There is a soccer match on TV. The game keeps him company. He accepts his loneliness with resolve. It is familiar to him. There are no surprises in it.

-The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins

Aside from living vicariously through other people’s sadness, it has been a while since I have experienced my own permeating melancholy. So when I sit here wondering what food it is that I prefer to have when I am swimming in the blues, I come up empty-handed. There was a time when I’d go out and buy myself chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, and a good amount of string cheese – but these days I’d like to think that I’d choose a healthier fare like Ushman did.

I normally make lentils as a soup with tomatoes, so I was definitely interested in expanding my horizons. I scoured the internet for Iranian lentils and rice recipes, and finally came across Persian Lentil Rice. I used the recipe mainly as a guide, as I didn’t have some ingredients on hand and I forgot others. The end result was probably not what it was supposed to be, but it did come across as a comfort food.

Comfort Lentils and Rice

• 1 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 1 cup jasmine rice (the original recipe called for basmati, but I bought jasmine by accident instead)
• 1 cup ground beef or ground beef substitute (I used Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• Light cooking oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the rice in water for about 3-4 hours. After it has soaked cook it in salted for 10-15 minutes until it is tender. Do not overcook it, otherwise it will be mush. If it is still watery when it is done cooking, drain it and allow it to sit for a few minutes.

Cook the lentils for about 25 minutes in salted water until the desired tenderness. Keep in mind that you will be cooking the lentils a little more a little bit later, but they should be close to the consistency that you like.

Sautee onions in a tablespoon or two of cooking oil until they start to turn slightly golden. Add the ground beef or beef substitute and salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

If you are using Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style, you may want to consider using a potato masher to get it to break up into smaller pieces.

In a medium to large cooking pot add 1/2 cup of water and about a tablespoon of oil. Add to this half of the rice, followed by the lentils and meat mixture, and finally put the rest of the rice on top. Allow this to cook over low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Take the pot off the heat and mix well, then serve.

When tasting this I knew that something was missing. In fact, there were a few things missing. The original recipe called for raisins, dates, and saffron. I kept the raisins and dates out purposefully, thinking I would add them into my own dish later as my husband is not fond of sweet and savory flavors mixing in a main dish. I did try to find saffron at my local grocery store, but had no luck, so that, too, was missing. In the end I forgot the raisins and dates entirely, and wound up putting a healthy dash or two of Killer Cajun Seasoning from Garlic Gourmay on the mixture.

I am not sure that I will try to make this again. It was very time-consuming and involved, and the flavors were too bland for my taste. Then again, if I made this closer to what the original recipe called for (red lentils, basmati rice, saffron, raisins, and dates) I might not be so disappointed.