Dark as Night Black Rice Pudding for Halloween
By: Leah Rodrigues
Published: October 16, 2014

Malaysian black rice pudding is a dark as night dessert that's perfect to serve during your Halloween festivities.  This gluten-free and dairy-free treat is ideal for anyone on a special diet.  Black rice, also known as forbidden rice, is cooked with water and sugar until the mixture becomes thick and tender.  A sweetened coconut sauce added to the rice and the leftover is drizzled over top when it's ready to serve.  To make this rice pudding even more festive, you can decorate the pudding with orange and yellow fruits such as papaya and mango.
Black Rice Pudding
	1 cup black glutinous rice
	1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
	1 ½ cups canned coconut milk (i.e. S&P Santan)
	1 teaspoon salt
	2 tablespoons corn starch with 2 tablespoons water
	Wash the rice by gently rubbing the grains with your fingers in a bowl of water. When the water becomes cloudy, drain the water and repeat the process until the water is clear. Drain the rice and add 2 cups of water. Allow the rice to soak overnight.
	When ready to cook, drain the rice and place it in a saucepan with 1 quart water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat o medium-low heat and simmer the rice for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring intermittently to prevent the rice form burning and sticking. Add 2 more cups water and 1/3 cups of the sugar and cook for 10 minutes. As the rice cooks, it will crack open, become thicker, and appear burgundy in color.
	Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk, the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, and corn starch in a medium saucepan over medium-low head. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar and to thicken the sauce. When the sauce begins to coat the spoon (after about 5 minutes), remove it from the heat.
	Pour ½ cup of the coconut sauce into the black sticky rice and mix well. Pour the remainder into a bowl and reserve for serving. 5. To serve, spoon the sticky rice into individual bowls and top with the coconut sauce. Serve warm.
 *Recipe from Christina Arokiasamy, Malaysian Food Ambassador and author of The Spice Merchant’s Daughter Cookbook