Vegan Black Rice Pudding

This vegan black rice pudding dish has multiple layers of flavour and texture, I’m sure it will be a winner. The black rice also looks so dramatic making this dish quite the statement. The best part: it’s so easy to make!

Black rice is quite unusual; I personally don’t see it in the regular grains and rice aisle at the supermarket. In fact, it took some searching to find this particular ingredient. I finally found it in the health foods and organic foods section. Among all the varieties of rice I have tasted so far, this one is decidedly my ultimate favourite. For more information about black rice, including its benefits, varieties and history, check this link.

When cooked, it maintains much of its shape and has a somewhat chewy texture. The colour is a deep purple-black, and any liquid that comes into contact with it gets stained the same shade. Its flavour is quite distinctive; some would describe it as “nutty” I personally found it almost fruity, a little earthy and yes, somewhat nutty.

In this recipe, I combined it with coconut milk which brought out the creaminess and complemented the unique flavours of the black rice. I also made a special cranberry topping to add a little acidity to balance out the richness of the creamy pudding. However, if cranberries are not available, you can use any other fruits of your choice. This recipe is perfectly vegan, so it’s suitable for everyone (unless you hate rice, puddings, and coconut milk!).

I cooked it using my new favourite kitchen gadget, the Instant Pot because it cuts down on the cooking time and tenderises the rice too. It’s probably the same using any other pressure cooker or multi-cooker. If I ever try making it on the stovetop, I’ll definitely write about it here!

Ingredients

1. One cup black rice
2. Half a teaspoon of salt
3. One cup coconut milk
4. One cup water
5. Half a cup of granulated white sugar or any other sweetener of your choice (if using a low-calorie sweetener, make sure to test the sweetness, often a smaller amount is needed to achieve the same sweetness of the sugar, so be careful with the amounts)
6. One teaspoon coconut flavouring (optional)
7. Two teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in three or four tablespoons of room temperature water
8. For the cranberry topping: One cup fresh or frozen whole unsweetened cranberries, half a cup of sugar, half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder, three or four tablespoons of water.
9. To serve: toasted sliced almonds and coconut chips (optional)

Method

1. Place the rice, coconut milk, salt, half cup of sugar, coconut flavouring (if using) and water in the Instant Pot and select the “Porridge” setting
2. Cover and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow it to depressurise naturally for 10 minutes.
3. In the meantime, place the cranberries and the other half cup of sugar in a saucepan on medium heat. Add about three tablespoons of water. Allow it to cook until the cranberries become a deep red and thicken. Add any extra water as needed, but be careful not to add too much.
4. After the rice has depressurised for 10 minutes, release any remaining pressure. Turn the Instant Pot to the “Sauté” setting and add in the cornstarch and water mixture. Stir the rice mixture with the added cornstarch for about three or four minutes on medium heat until it thickens to the desired consistency.
5. Remove from heat and serve topped with the cranberry topping, toasted almonds, a drizzle of coconut milk and coconut chips. Enjoy!

Have you ever tried black rice? How did you make it? Do you like it? Let me know all about it in the comments!

For other similar recipes, check out:

1. Creamy Eggless Rice Pudding
2. Egyptian Wheat Porridge

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