kheer: indian rice pudding with cardamom

I am woefully busy, having spent what seems like half the past week on Chinatown buses (NY -> Boston -> NY -> DC -> NY), but somewhere in between all the travelling I managed to make yet another batch of kheer (also known as payasam or payesh, depending on what part of the subcontinent you are in). I am a devoted lover of rice pudding--not so much the sticky, insipid Anglo-American versions, but rather the endless fragrant iterations found from Turkey on eastwards, laced with rosewater or cardamoms or saffron, and other lovely things. In Turkey, I consume fırın sütlaç (a baked rice pudding, thick and custardy and vanilla-tinted, with a burnt-caramelly layer on top) shamelessly, at inappropriate hours (mmm, for breakfast) and with a kind of woeful urgency, on the grounds that I have only X months/weeks/days to eat it until I return to some godforsaken country where it can't be found. I mean to learn to cook it properly myself, but I need little ramekins to bake the portions individually, and can't buy any kitchenware until there's a kitchen to put it in.

In the meantime, I console myself with kheer, which I love nearly as well, and which is much easier to make. I cooked another batch this week, to share with my hosts (though not Buchu, who scorns rice pudding, and was too busy feeding me gorgeous Thai food and sharing old photographs & new books) and to distract myself from pressing matters such as interview preparation and tax returns. I recommend you do the same.

Fusion Kheer

Note: the only truly essential flavoring here is the cardamom, though I would strongly recommend the bay leaf as well. The cinnamon and allspice are my own untraditional additions, a nod to more westerly interpretations of the dish--hence the fusion (culinary hybridity in action!) You might also want to play around with saffron, coconut, rosewater, orange essence, and other flavors.

one quart milk (whole or two-percent/semi-skimmed)
1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice, washed
1/2 tin evaporated (or condensed milk), about 3/4 cup
1/2 cup white sugar (if you're using sweetened condensed milk, instead of evaporated milk, use only about 1/4 cup sugar--condensed milk has sugar added already)
10 green cardamoms, gently cracked
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or a short cinnamon stick
a pinch allspice

Pour the quart of regular milk, the uncooked rice, and the spices into a pot. Turn heat to high, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat down slightly once it is boiling (high enough to keep it at a rolling boil, but not so high that it boils over) and cook for 25 minutes, stirring constantly, until milk is reduced and rice is cooked soft. The mixture should be thick, creamy, and bubbling, with very little liquid remaining. Turn off heat and fish out the bay leaf, cardamoms, cinnamon stick etc. Stir in the evaporated milk and the sugar, and mix until completely blended. Put the mixture (which will be somewhat runny) into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled and set. Serve topped with pistachios (ground or whole) or almonds, or varak if you are feeling fancy.