This is a traditional English pudding. There must be some history attached to it because rice is not native to the country. Because it takes so little time to prepare and requires long slow cooking it was frequently associated with dishes like Lancashire Hotpot. For much the same reason, it is often remembered as a "Monday" pudding. Monday was the day housewives used to do the washing. Before the days of washing machines, the mother in any family not rich enough to be able to send the shirts, sheets and underwear off to the laundry was committed to a day of hard labour at the end of which she would be in no mood for cooking.
Ingredients (4 people)
Two tablespoons of rice
Two tablespoons of sugar
One pint of milk
A few knobs of
butter.
Method
Use the paper in which butter has been wrapped to grease a baking dish. Pour in the milk, dissolve the sugar and add the rice. Don't be tempted to add more rice, it always looks like there is a lot of liquid and not much solid, but adding too much rice produces something similar in texture to a loofah. Place the knobs of button on the surface and cook in a slow oven (Gas mark 3, 150 deg. F or 325 deg. C) for two - two and half hours.
Comment
In some parts of the country, nutmeg is grated over surface. Children like to add a dollop of jam.
Page Created: 5th November 2000