Chillier mornings are upon us here in Santa Monica! I can’t help but get into the fall spirit. When visiting the garden recently, I found, tucked into a tangle of vines and leaves, a large dusty orange pumpkin. Inconspicuous against the riot of bright color of the other flowering vegetables, the humble pumpkin deserves a spotlight today, just in time for Halloween!
When you are ready to harvest your pumpkins, look for fruit (pumpkins are indeed a fruit) that has a deep, solid orange and has a hard stem. If you tap on the pumpkin, you will hear a hollow sound, and the skin will be firm. Grab a knife or pruners to cut the pumpkin off the vine. Pumpkins are more fragile than they look; they can bruise easily and tend to tear if you hold them by the stem. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, pumpkins have grown in North America for 5,000 years. The flesh of the pumpkin can be roasted and eaten, as can the seeds, and it is a great source of fiber and potassium, which aids in maintaining an even blood pressure and supporting muscle health.
I drew inspiration for this recipe from a favorite Indian sweet of mine: kheer. Kheer is a nutty, rich rice pudding flavored with saffron that is served chilled. As a kid, I would race through my main meal and be armed and ready with my spoon when the kheer hit the table. I love the contrast of the crunchy nuts, plump raisins, and soft rice, and I wanted to keep those elements in this recipe. I changed the spice profile to compliment the pumpkin, and it feels like eating the filling of a pumpkin pie. This is one cozy bowl of pumpkin perfection for the fall. I hope you enjoy it!
Pumpkin Rice Pudding Recipe:
¼ cup basmati rice
3.5 cups of milk of choice
½ cup pumpkin puree
5 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS sliced almonds
1 TBS chopped pecans
1 TBS chopped walnuts
1 TBS golden raisins
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cardamom powder
¼ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp salt
Method:
- Soak the rice for 15 minutes and then rinse the rice. Put the rice in a bowl and set aside for now.
- In a medium saucepan, add the milk and pumpkin and bring up the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently
- Add the rice to the milk and pumpkin mixture
- Lower the heat and simmer the rice for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Add the brown sugar and cook the rice for another 8 minutes
- Add in the spices, salt, raisins, and nuts and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the rice is thick and soft to chew
- Serve right away for a warm pudding or store in the fridge for at least 4 hours to enjoy cold
- Top with extra nuts before serving and dig in
Salima Saunders
