1/2 cup long-grain rice
feel free to try different types of rice. i've used calrose, japanese sweet rice, basmati, and jasmine. my favorite is jasmine because it just has a very subtle fragrance to it. basmati has a woodier taste to it and is best if you are making south asian versions of this kind of dessert.
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
very finely grated lemon rind of about half a lemon. if you don't want the lemon flavor too strong, cut the whole rind pieces into 2 strips instead of grating it.
2 cups of milk.
here's where you can tweak this recipe in terms of sweetness. instead of two cups, add a can of evaporated milk and a cup of 1 or 2 percent low-fat milk. for even richer rice pudding, use a cup of whole milk. i have known some south americans to use condensed milk.
1 1/4 cups of sugar.
adjust to your liking, especially if you are using evaporated or condensed milk.
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
cinnamon powder
grind it yourself and you'd be surprised at the assault on your senses that occurs :) add freshly ground nutmeg and a lil bit of ground cloves. shake it up!
raisins
take about a cup of raisins and soak them in rum for about an hour. add just enough rum so that it gets soaked up. then, in a casserole dish, spread them around right before you pour the hot rice mexture to set. the last i made it rice pudding, i used coconut rum and got rave reviews.
a shot of vanilla (use the real stuff, fer chrissake!)
soak the rice in hot water for 15 minutes. i get the hot water directly from the tap and it seems to work ok for me. drain and rise well with cold water...use a strainer. in a large saucepan combine the rice, water, and cinnamon stick and grated lemon rind, and bring to a boil. lower the heat and simmer just like regular rice. for firmer rice, use a slightly higher heat. i prefer the rice to be a little less then al dente, but not mushy. again, your mileage may vary.
add the milk and sugar and softly boil (simmer) the rice until it is to your favorite tenderness. thrown the beaten egg yolks and then get the stuff boiling. remove it from the burner and pour it into the casserole dish that has those yummy rum-soaked raisins (if you haven't eaten them all by now!) you must after it has completely cooled, go ahead and sprinkle on the cinnamon/cloves/nutmeg mixture over the top. cover and let refrigerate for about an hour or so.
Enjoy!