Sweet Rice (Zarda) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 cups uncooked white rice
1/4 teaspoon orange food color
10 pods whole cardamom
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped almonds
2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Preparation

Place the rice in a bowl with water to cover and soak one hour.
Bring a large pot of water to boil with food color and half the cardamom pods. Stir in the rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender, 20 minutes.
In a large skillet over low heat, cook remaining cardamom pods in oil 2 minutes. Stir in cooked, drained rice, and sugar. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream, raisins, walnuts, almonds and orange zest. Serve warm.