Fırın Sütlaç (Baked Turkish Rice Pudding)
فرن سوتلاچ (بیک کی ہوئی ترکی کھیر)
Every Turkish pudding shop (*muhallebici*) sells sütlaç, and the best-loved version is fırın sütlaç, "oven rice pudding". It's very close to our kheer: rice simmered slowly in milk with sugar. The differences are a spoon of rice flour to make it extra creamy, no cardamom or nuts, and a final blast under the grill that leaves the top speckled with dark, caramelised spots. It's served cold, with a pinch of cinnamon.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr
- Prep: 10 min
- Cook: 50 min
- Easy
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Simmer the rice in the water in a heavy for 10 minutes, until the water is almost absorbed and the rice is soft.
Add 4½ cups of the milk and bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is very soft.
Whisk the rice flour and cornflour into the remaining half cup of cold milk until smooth. Add the sugar to the pot, then pour in the flour mixture in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Cook for 5–8 minutes until it thickens like custard.
Stir in the vanilla. Pour into small heatproof bowls set in a deep tray. Pour cold water into the tray to come halfway up the bowls.
Put the tray on the top shelf under the oven's hottest grill for 12–15 minutes, until the tops are speckled dark brown. Watch closely.
Cool, then chill for at least 3 hours. Serve cold, dusted with cinnamon.
Kitchen notes
The water bath keeps the pudding from boiling and splitting while the top browns under the grill.
No oven grill? Skip the browning, or caramelise the top with a kitchen blowtorch. It's still delicious as plain sütlaç.
Stir often and scrape the bottom. Milk puddings catch easily.
Turkey’s pudding shop favourite
Turkey has a whole tradition of milk puddings, sold in muhallebici shops alongside tea: muhallebi (like firni), kazandibi (with a burnt base), tavuk göğsü (made with chicken breast!) and sütlaç. Baked sütlaç, with its brown-speckled top, is the one most Turks would choose.
The method
- Cook the rice first in water. This softens the grains before the milk goes in, which saves time and helps prevent burning.
- Simmer in milk. Twenty minutes of gentle simmering and frequent stirring.
- Thicken with rice flour. A little rice flour and cornflour mixed into cold milk makes the pudding thick and silky much faster than reducing it for hours.
- Brown under the grill. Small bowls sit in a tray of water under a very hot grill until the top is spotted dark brown.
- Chill. It sets as it cools.
For kheer lovers
If you make kheer or firni at home, this will feel natural. Broken basmati (kanki) works well. Leave out the cardamom to taste the difference, or keep it if you prefer.
Serving
Serve cold, dusted with cinnamon. Some people add crushed hazelnuts or pistachios on top.
Questions people ask
How is it different from kheer?
Kheer is usually reduced slowly for longer, flavoured with cardamom and nuts, and sometimes served warm. Sütlaç is thickened quickly with rice flour, has no cardamom, is browned on top and always served cold with cinnamon.
Can I make rice flour at home?
Yes. Grind a few spoons of raw rice to a fine powder in a dry grinder and sift it.
How long does it keep?
Three days in the fridge, covered.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 260
- Protein
- 7 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
