Lebanese Rice Pudding

Used to be a Mid-Eastern restaurant in Lexington that served Friend Wife's favorite version of rice pudding. I've been trying to replicate it since the place closed, and have finally come close with this version from Hussien Dekmak's The Lebanese Cookbook:

Riz Bil Halib
(Rice Pudding)

1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
4 cups milk
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 tbls rose water
1 tbls orange blossom water
5 tbls pistachios, soaked overnight in water and peeled, to serve

Put the rice and 2 1/2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook until the rice is half cooked, ten minutes. Drain the rice.

Put the milk and sugar in a separate saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time with a whisk. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring constantly, ten minutes.

Add the rice and cook, stirring all the time, a further 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rose water and orange blossom water.

Pour into serving glasses and leave until cold. Scatter with the pistachios and serve.

Because I wanted their flavor infused through the pudding, I added the pistachios to the milk at the same time I added the rice, stirring them through the mix.

As I said, this is almost dead on. Next time I'll add just a hint of cardamom--oh, maybe a teaspoonfull---which should make it perfect.