Over the past few years, I have volunteered to work with indigenous women in Mexico, Peru, Belize, Guatemala, and Panama. My goal was to teach women to make chocolate and chocolate desserts so they could in turn start micro-businesses to help support their families. Time and again I found myself in villages that had two basic tools, a mill and a rock (metate).
I realized I would not be able to teach them to make smooth chocolate bars or truffles, but I could show them other ways to use the rustic chocolate produced with their tools. I had to create a list of products that used ingredients that were easy to find, cheap to buy, that would appeal to potential customers, were easy to make, required no special tools, could be made over wood-fired stoves, and included rustic chocolate. And no refrigeration required. All requirements that would defeat any pastry chef or chocolatier.
But I am not a normal chocolatier. I can be beat in a French or Japanese pastry kitchen but if you throw me in the jungle with basic tools; I demolish. Anyone can make great things in a fully-equipped air-conditioned kitchen. But only few can create with very few resources.
This chocolate rice pudding was my first idea. In Guatemala we made it with water, in Peru with sweetened condensed milk, and in Panama with milk powder. None of these places had access to fresh milk.
This chocolate is simply made by grinding cacao. The grinding can happen on a rock (metate) or mill (molino) and is not processed beyond grinding it into a paste. Most Americans and Europeans don’t know much about this style of chocolate and don’t have access to it. All mainstream chocolate bars are made with cacao that has been ground for hours, sometimes days. So it is very smooth and has lost a lot of the natural flavors of the cacao. And will include vanilla, lecithin, milk, and other types of oils/fats.
All dessert recipes in the USA/Europe are written for those who have access to chips/morsels, bars, or refined chocolate. Most Latin American countries, especially indigenous communities, do not have access to these, but they have access to this less-ground, less-processed chocolate.
This recipe is meant to be use with the Mayordomo or Abuelita/Ibarra style chocolate. But you can definitely use any chocolate you have on hand.
This is the recipe I make at home. In Guatemala we used only water. In Peru we used sweetened condensed milk and it was nice and gooey; here is the recipe that uses sweetened condensed milk instead of fresh whole milk.
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Arroz con leche | Chocolate and Whole Milk Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
- Total Time: 47 minute
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
A creamy and chocolatey rice pudding.
Tools: pot, spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 6 cups of whole milk
- 2 cups water
- 80 grams piloncillo (aka rapadura, panela, unrefined sugar)
- 90 grams Mexican hot chocolate (1 disk of Ibarra/Abuelita brands)
If you do not have Mexican hot chocolate: substitute 45 grams (1/2 cup) of cacao liquor, 50 grams of sugar, ½ teaspoon of Mexican cinnamon. - 1 teaspoon of vanilla (optional)
Instructions
- Rinse rice, place in pot with water and milk and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes.
- After these 20 minutes, add all ingredients and stir constantly to avoid spilling and sticking.
- Remove from heat after rice fully cooks and when it is your desired consistency. About 10-20 minutes later. The rice will dry out as it cools. So if you want a creamy rice pudding, remove from heat when it still has some liquid. But make sure the rice is cooked. You can always add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
Notes
- Category: rice pudding
- Method: stovetop
Keywords: rice pudding, arroz con leche, stovetop desserts, chocolate desserts, Latin American desserts
