-
1
Combine the whole milk, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange zest strips in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat. Bring the milk slowly to a bare simmer, then add the rice. The milk should show a gentle, steady movement — not a rolling boil.
-
2
Stir continuously with a wooden spoon, keeping the heat low throughout. This is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient stirring allows the milk solids and rice to catch on the base, producing bitterness and an uneven, broken texture rather than the required deep, homogeneous creaminess.
-
3
Once the rice has absorbed most of the whole milk and the grains are fully tender, add the condensed milk. Continue stirring over low heat. The condensed milk will deepen the colour toward ivory-gold and the mixture will thicken perceptibly — the spoon should leave a brief, clear trail across the surface of the pudding.
-
4
Remove the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange zest strips. The finished pudding should be rich and slightly sticky in consistency, pulling away from the sides of the pan in slow, heavy waves as the spoon moves through it.
-
5
Serve warm or at room temperature. The aroma should carry warm spice and orange clearly above the concentrated dairy note — if neither is present, the aromatics were added too late or the heat was too high.