Nina's Rizogolo 🇬🇷 Greek Rice Pudding
In case you were wondering what rizogolo means, it's simply named after two key ingredients. Rizi which is rice, and gala which is milk. Pronounced ri-zho-gha-loh. It's a very traditional desert in a greek home.
There are many variations to making rizogolo and I've always stuck to my mother's recipe. It's not hard to make but you do need to keep an eye on the pot and stir well and often, to ensure that the rice and milk don't stick to the bottom and burn ⚠️ Patience will pay off.
I can't wait to eat the left overs at the bottom of the saucepan. It seriously brings back my fondest childhood memories of how my mum would serve it in beautiful small decorative plates.
Ingredients
- 0.5 cups uncooked medium grain or aborio rice
- 1 cup water
- pinch of salt
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons white sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In a medium saucepan, add the water, rice and salt. Parboil the rice until almost all the water is absorbed.
- Add the milk
- Heat until just before boiling, and then reduce temp to lowest possible setting.
- Cook for about 55 mins, or more, until the mixture has almost thickened , making sure you stir most of the time.
- Stir in the sugar and vanilla extract and mix well for a few minutes before turning the heat off.
- Plate the rizogolo, and when cooled slightly, sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Refrigerate for a refreshing desert or eat warm the way I love it.
Enjoy!