09 Feb Peruvian Arroz Zambito – Brown Rice Pudding
Peruvian Arroz Zambito is a dessert that was born in the colonial era when the Spanish brought rice pudding and the Peruvians added their personal touch, which was Chancaca. Chancaca is a natural sweetener from sugar cane, it is normally bought in blocks that one must break in order to use.
The original Arroz Zambito is a dessert that you can find in wheelbarrows or food stalls in Peru, you will usually see it among other Peruvian desserts such as the classic rice pudding, purple corn pudding (mazamorra morada), Doña Pepa’s nougat (Turrón de Doña pepa), “suspiro de limeña”, “mazamorra de cochino”, black bean dessert (frejol colado), Flan (Crema volteada) etc. .
This classic Peruvian dessert is called Zambito because its colour is brown, on contrary to the classic rice pudding, which is white. This brown colour is due to the use of Chancaca, which is golden brown.
Unlike traditional rice pudding, this sweet has chopped raisins and pecans inside the dessert itself, which gives it a different and interesting texture.
Ingredients:
- Milk
- Rice
- Clove
- Cinnamon
- chancaka
- Raisins
- pecans
- Water
- Powder Cinnamon
- Optional (orange peel)
For the preparation, we boil the main ingredient: milk, water, rice, cloves, cinnamon and the Chancaca chopped into small pieces in a pot. You could add some orange peel to enhance the flavour, some people like it some others don’t, so is optional. Cook this preparation over medium heat and move continuously with a wooden spoon to prevent the bottom to burn. Continue stirring until the rice is cooked and the preparation has the right texture, that is, where we can see the bottom of the pot. Depending on how thick you like it, you will cook it for more or fewer minutes. Once cooked, turn off the heat and add the raisins and chopped pecans.
Pour the preparation into a large container or into six or eight small bowls. Let cool and sprinkle the top of the rice pudding with ground cinnamon. Enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee. Let me know in the comments what you think about this great dessert.
Frequent questions:
This dessert originates from colonial times when the Conquerors brought the Spanish dessert: rice pudding to Peru and we add a Peruvian touch to it. In this case, the touch is the Chancaca, which is what gives the preparation that golden brown colour.
Yes, of course, no problem you can skip them. In my house, we put everything like the original recipe because we are fans of raisins and pecans.
You could use the same amount of dark brown sugar that the recipe mentions for the Chancaca, but suddenly it doesn’t come out as brown as it looks in the photo because Chancaca tends to be a little darker than sugar.
This recipe calls for whole milk, but you definitely could try it with lactose-free milk (have tried it for my family ) or any other type of milk. The Chancaca and the rice starch will thicken the preparation.
Peruvian Arroz Zambito – Brown Rice Pudding
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Peruvian
Description
This is a popular dessert of Peruvian culture, you can find it in almost every park when you see food stools around. I recommend it for a sweet tooth out there because definitely sweeter that the classic rice pudding.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of water
- 1 litre of whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves (clavos de olor)
- 1 cup of rice
- 500 g of chopped Chancaca
- 1/2 cup of raisins
- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans
- Cinnamon powder
- Orange peel (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the water, milk, cinnamon, cloves, rice and chopped Chancaca into a pot. You could add the orange peel for an extra flavour, but the traditional recipe doesn’t call for that so it is optional.
- Bring this pot to medium-low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula to prevent the milk and sugar from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Continue stirring until the rice is cooked and the milk thickens enough to see the bottom of the pot. The thickness will depend on how many more minutes we continue to cook the mixture, some people like it a little thinner and therefore just seeing the bottom of the pot is enough, but if you like it thicker like me, you will have to continue stirring for at least 7 to 10 more minutes.
- Pour the preparation into a mould to serve at the table or in six or eight bowls or individual saucers, so that it is already in portions. Let cool for a few minutes and sprinkle with ground cinnamon before serving. Enjoy this delicious dessert with your favourite coffee or hot drink.
Keywords: Peruvian Arroz Zambito, Peruvian Brown Rice Pudding
Hi! I’m Valeria (aka Val) the photographer and recipe developer behind Canguro Criollo. My passion for food began when I was little at my home when everything will revolve around food and now I discover this new creative outlet of food photography. I wish you can follow my journey discovering unique ways of preparing Peruvian food abroad and some other family-friendly foods.
Pingback:Peruvian Dessert: Lucuma's Suspiro de Limeña - Canguro Criollo
Posted at 19:42h, 27 February[…] such as mazamorra morada (purple corn pudding), arroz con leche (rice pudding), crema volteada, arroz zambito, frejol colado(black beans dessert), turrón de doña pepa, picarones, (Peruvian donuts), […]
Pingback:Peruvian Rice Pudding: Arroz con leche peruano - Canguro Criollo
Posted at 17:00h, 07 March[…] and half purple corn pudding. this dessert is found among other traditional dessert such as “Arroz zambito“, “Turrón de doña pepa”, “Suspiro de Limeña”, crema volteada, […]