Beautiful Bali with its picturesque rice terraces, exotic temples, impressive sunsets and enchanting energy offers plenty of nutritious and delicious plant-based meals. One of them is this black-rice pudding called bubur injin. It’s a creamy, coconutty, savoury breakfast.
Black Rice Pudding
Rice has been a staple food in Asia for thousands of years. It’s more than just a grain, it’s a symbol of sustenance.
In ancient China, black rice was only served for the Emperor while it was completely banned for the common people. Thus, its alternative names were ‘forbidden rice’ or ‘Emperor’s rice’. We are not sure if those ancient people have known about its superior quality/ impressive health benefits or if they selected it simply because it was rare and interesting.
Anyway it is rich in antioxidants, a good source of protein, fibre and iron; anti-inflammatory, and guess what? It’s low in calories which means it aids weight loss, yay!
Ingredients
- 100g (½ cup) dried black rice
- 360g (1 ½ cup) coconut milk
- 120g (½ cup) water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cardamon
- a pinch of salt
Toppings: fresh fruit of your choice (banana, mango, kiwi, peach…), coconut flakes, 1 tablespoon coconut yogurt, raisins, goji berries, hemp seeds ….
To Make
Soak black rice in water overnight. This will reduce the cooking time considerably. Drain and rinse well again.
- Place all ingredients in a medium size sauce pan on the stove over medium heat.
- Stir ingredients and allow rice mixture to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
- Cover the sauce pan with a lid, and stir occasionally to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom.
- Cook for roughly 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (you still want a little liquid as the pudding will continue to thicken as it cools).
- Once you have the desired consistency remove from the heat and place in bowl.
- Top with sliced fruits, coconut flakes, and a drizzle of coconut yogurt, or any of your favourite toppings.
Note: The rice mixture will thicken with time so if you are planning on waiting to serve next day you may want to remove from the heat while the mixture is still slightly runny. It will thicken more in the refrigerator.
- The longer it simmers, the thicker it will become.
- You can add any kind of sweetener: coconut, or regular sugar, maple syrup, or honey if you like.
- Feel free to add any of your favourite spices.
My favourite topping for this rice pudding is stewed fruits. If you want to try this version, all you need to do is to Stew fruits on low heat just for 5 minutes with a pinch of nutmeg and some water.
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