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Guyanese sweet rice plated in small bowl. A stack of empty bowls are to the right of the image. All the bowls are on a vibrant shawl with red and orange tones.
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Guyanese Sweet Rice

Guyanese sweet rice is a delicious dish made with rice cooked in milk and warm spices. It is similar to rice pudding and is also called kheer. Make this recipe on the stove top, or keep it simple and do it in the Instant Pot.
Course Dessert/Breakfast
Cuisine Guyanese
Keyword guyanese kheer, guyanese rice porridge, guyanese rice pudding, guyanese sweet rice, guyanese sweet rice recipe, how to make guyanese sweet rice, how to make sweet rice, how to make sweet rice guyanese style, kheer, recipes for sweet rice, simple sweet rice recipe, sweet rice, sweet rice guyana, sweet rice recipe, sweet rice recipe guyana, sweet rice recipe with condensed milk, sweet rice recipes, sweet white rice recipe, what is sweet rice
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 443kcal
Author Althea Brown

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 cup White Rice
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 4 Cardamom pods
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence

Optional:

  • 1/4 cup golden raisins (rinsed)
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon custard powder (can also use corn starch)

Instructions

Traditional Stove Top Method

  • Rinse rice 2-3 times, then add 2 cups of water and soak over night.
  • When ready to cook, add 4 cups of water and all of the spices to a sauce pan and bring to a rapid boil on high heat. Then drain and rinse the rice soaked overnight. Add the rice and raisins (if using) to the boiling water with the spices.
  • Continue to boil for 10 minutes then reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes without stirring.
  • Next, if using custard powder, dissolve the custard powder into the evaporated milk making sure that there are no lumps. A whisk is perfect for this. Then add the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract (essence) to the saucepan with the rice and stir to combine.
  • Continue to cook on low heat for another 10 minutes or until it reaches your desired thickness, stirring often to prevent burning or sticking.
  • You may remove the spices and add the maraschino cherries (if using) before letting the sweet rice rest in the fridge over night and then serving cold.

Instant Pot Method

  • Rinse your rice 2-3 times and set aside. Then add 4 cups of water, all of the spices and the raisins (if using) to the instant pot.
  • Seal up the instant pot and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. Then if time allows to pressure down through a natural release (this takes about 10 minutes). Then remove the whole spices from the rice.
  • Next if using custard powder, dissolve the custard powder in the evaporated milk. Make sure there are no lumps. Then add the evaporated milk, condensed milk, vanilla essence/extract and maraschino cherries (if using) to the instant pot and mix well.
  • Let your sweet rice cool completely before moving to the refrigerator. Serve cold.

Notes

Dairy-Free Sweet Rice: For a more dairy-free and wholesome sweet rice consider substituting the evaporated and condensed milks with coconut milk and coconut cream and sweetening it with coconut sugar or maple syrup.
For that option use 1 cup of coconut milk, 1/2 cup of coconut cream, and 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. The sweet rice will have a darker color because of the coconut sugar but it is just as delicious.
Add the coconut milk and coconut sugar at the same point in the recipe where you would add the evaporated and condensed milk but mix in the coconut cream at the very end.
 
Sweet Rice Brûlée: After chilling the sweet rice in the refrigerator over night, add to a brûlée dish, then top with a table spoon of granulated sugar. Using a brûlée torch or a spoon heated over the stove, make your Kheer brûlée. I show you how to do it here.
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 443kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 541mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 327IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 382mg | Iron: 1mg