Stovetop Rice Pudding (Riz Bi Haleeb)

5 from 7 votes

Stovetop Rice Pudding (Riz Bi Haleeb)

Middle Eastern rosewater rice pudding, or riz bi haleeb, is a creamy warm Middle Eastern dessert that's easy to make using cooked rice, fresh milk, sugar, rose water, and orange blossom water. It's absolutely delicious and perfect for the winter.

Servings: servings

Ingredients

½ cup dry Calrose rice will be about double in size once cooked
½ cup water to cook the rice
4 cups milk cold
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoon cornstarch
5-6 beads mastic
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 tablespoon rosewater
optional: nuts cinnamon, or honey for topping

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start by washing the rice. In a small or medium-sized pot, add the rice and boiling water (or enough to submerge the rice). Bring to a boil, then cover and lower the heat until the rice is fully cooked. Set aside.
Crush the mastic beads until they turn into a fine powder. Add the mastic powder into a pot with the cornstarch, sugar, and milk.
Whisk until fully incorporated or until the cornstarch has dissolved. Make sure everything has fully dissolved.
Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil while continuing to whisk, then lower the heat to medium and simmer while still whisking until it starts to thicken up (about 10 minutes).
Once thick and creamy like a runny custard (or bechamel), add in the cooked rice, rosewater, and orange blossom water and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the rice pudding from the stovetop once it's thickened up.
Transfer immediately to your serving bowl(s) and garnish with nuts or cinnamon. Or, allow to cool down for 30 minutes and thicken up a bit more.

Notes

Don't worry if your rice is slightly sticky, just make sure it's fully cooked.
Monitor and frequently stir the rice pudding on the stovetop because it can easily stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
If you don't have mastic, rose water, or orange blossom water, you can add vanilla instead.
The rice pudding thickens up over time and may seem a little runny at first.
Reheating and Storage: You can store this pudding in a jar or an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can eat it either cold or warm, so you don't really have to reheat it. I definitely prefer it warm. To reheat it, place it back into a pot on the stove on medium-high heat. Add a splash of milk just to loosen it up, and stir until it warms up evenly.

Nutrition