Ahh, good old Sutlijaš (or Sutlija in some parts). The simple, sweet rice pudding Balkan kids grew up eating over and over again when there maybe weren’t many store-bought sweets around.

I always loved this dessert and usually ate it every time my mom made Sarma or Punjene Paprike. Actually, now that I think about it, I ONLY ate it when she made those dishes. If you haven’t guessed why, it’s because both of those dishes use cooked rice, and sometimes my mom would eyeball it and end up with way too much rice. She’d add some milk and sugar to it and we gobbled it up.

And while this was fine, I decided it needed to taste better. Rice cooked in water is so different than when cooked in milk.It’s much creamier and richer, so I decided to make it myself, and intentionally this time, not just because I was making Sarma! 🙂

A little non-traditional, I decided a bit of heavy cream was exactly what this recipe needed. And when you taste it, you’ll see how much of a difference it makes.

One important note: This is one of those dishes that you can’t leave alone as it cooks. You need to be stirring the rice pretty much the entire time because it sticks so easily.

Sutlijaš / Balkan Rice Pudding

Recipe by The Balkan HostessCourse: DessertCuisine: Balkan

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

A traditional Balkan comfort food.

Ingredients

2 cups (400 g) long grain white rice
6 cups (1.5 L) milk
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (I use 2 packets)
1/2 teaspoon (3 ml) vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream / neutralna pavlaka
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
Cocoa powder for garnish

Directions

In a dry large pot, add in your dry rice and 2 cups of milk. Cook on medium heat, stirring once every minute, until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook the rice stirring continuously, until the milk has almost all been absorbed.
Add in the rest of the milk and continue cooking the rice on medium heat, stirring continuously.
When the mixture reaches a boil, turn down the heat to medium-low and add in the vanilla sugar and vanilla extract.
Continue cooking the rice until the liquid is almost completely absorbed and the rice is cooked through. The mixture will be very creamy and pudding-like. This should take around 25 minutes. You must stir the entire time or the rice will stick and burn.
When the rice is cooked, add in the heavy cream and sugar. Stir well to combine and adjust sugar to taste.
Remove from heat and carefully ladle into serving dishes. This makes 4 very generous portions or 6 smaller portions. Dust with cocoa powder.
Serve hot or cold (I like mine very cold directly from the fridge).

Notes

Rice cooking time varies based on rice brand. If, after 35 minutes the milk has been mostly absorbed and the mixture is creamy but the rice isn’t cooked all the way, reduce the heat and add a little bit of additional milk. Continue cooking until the rice is cooked through.
The wider your pot, the faster the rice will cook. This is because there is more surface area.
As the rice sits, it will absorb even more of the liquid. If it’s a little too thick for your liking, just add some milk and thin it out.

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