A recipe from my friend Sumana Chatterjee, whose family lives in Calcutta. The ingredient list, obviously, could not be shorter, but don’t be deceived: This is a labor-intensive dish, best made on a cool day (we made it on a hot one and lost about five pounds each) when you are going to be in the kitchen for a long time. Having said that, it is wonderful stuff, creamy and delicious, representative of the scores of different milk desserts made throughout India.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 to 8 servings

　　2 quarts whole milk

　　2 cardamom pods

　　3/8 to 1/2 cup rice

　　3/8 to 1/2 cup sugar, to taste

　　

Step 1

Combine the milk and cardamom in a heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. As the mixture warms, begin to stir it with a wooden spoon. Be patient and do not cook too quickly or the milk will burn on the bottom; you want the mixture simmering, but not really boiling. You don’t have to stir constantly, but you must stir frequently.

　　

Step 2

When the quantity of milk has reduced by half, an hour or so later, stir in the rice. Continue to cook and stir until the rice is very soft and the milk further reduced, 30 minutes or so. Stir in the sugar and cook for another 10 or 15 minutes, still stirring.

　　

Step 3

When the pudding is done, pour it into a bowl and refrigerate (or you can serve it warm or at room temperature). The skin that forms on it and that left behind in the pot are the prime parts.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.