Middle Eastern Rice Pudding

Stumbled upon this recipe on the internet in a blog called "Porcini Chronicles", which was posted by one of the blog members - Suzan .The recipe originally came from about.com by Fayed Saad, but she modified it by adding less sugar and adding some salt.Anyways,the whole point is that this makes the most perfect rice pudding anytime you make it, both in flavor and consistency.It is also the best comfort food that you can have on any day.It can be eaten warm or cold and garnished with cinnamon and nuts or with anything that your imagination comes up with.This is one of my all time favourite desserts and hopefully you will like it as much as I do.

• Ready In: 5 mins
• Serves: 2-4
• Yields: 2-4 cups

Ingredients

• 1  cup  raw arborio rice
• 2  cups water
• 3  cups  whole milk
• 1⁄2-3⁄4 cup granulated sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)
• 1  tablespoon  orange blossom water (could be found in most middle eastern stores)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Step 1: Heat the rice and water in a very large pan to the boiling point,then lower the heat and simmer covered until the rice is done and the water is completely absorbed (approx. 15 min.).
2. Step 2:Add the milk and stir to incorporate paying particular attention to scraping all the rice from the bottom of the pan.Bring to a simmer and cook stirring periodically until mixture becomes thick and creamy.
3. Step 3:Add the sugar and orange-blossom water.The consistency will become more liquidy as a result,so continue cooking and stirring for another 5-10 minutes until it is thick and creamy once more.
4. Step 4: Remove from heat and carefully pour into serving cups.Serve warm or cold.Garnish with cinnamon and chopped nuts.
5. Note:If going to serve cold ,let it cool in the serving cups for a few minutes ,then cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate.