Risengrød and the magic of Dansk Juletid

by Ava Gilder

Published in RICE, an anthology by RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, 2024

Skive, Denmark, 2013–2014: Risengrød, or rice pudding, came at a pivotal point in my life. I was halfway across the world on an international youth exchange program. I went from India to Denmark, spending my first Christmas at my new home away from home. Before leaving Mumbai, I was a painfully shy 16-year-old, fresh out of spending a traumatic 12 years at an all-girls school in the city, with no confidence to speak of. I needed a blank slate—a new place where no one knew who I was, a time of reinvention. Within three months in a small town in northern Denmark, I had fallen in love with the country and its people, and with that, my sense of self started to grow. Sitting around the dining table on that night before Christmas Eve, or lille julaften, surrounded by my host family, my host mother served up risengrød. A Danish tradition, it is a risotto-esque rice pudding drowned in butter and cinnamon sugar, with leftovers left out for the Christmas elves or nisse to eat at night. Even now, I still find it hard to put that magical night into words. The whole house smelled like cinnamon and warm milk. The short-grain rice had been soaked and cooked through until it reached the consistency of a soft, warm, melt-in-the-mouth pudding. Then, the cinnamon sugar was sprinkled over the top, with extra on the table for the sweet tooth. To finish it off, generous pats of Lurpak unsalted butter were added to each dish. I had never smelt anything more divine. It was the simplest of dishes, made with love and care, and I felt the tears well at the corners of my eyes. There really is only one word that describes it: hygge. Hygge is one of those ineffable words that gained popularity on the internet at one point. It is a comforting quality that translates into a feeling of well-being or contentment—think sitting curled up in warm blankets with a great book while it’s raining outside. On this particular night, though, it meant being surrounded by a Danish family, speaking half in broken Danish and broken English, with candles on the table and a belly full of warm food and flowing wine, while outside was covered with a layer of ice and snow.

I spent the whole of December with my host family, enjoying everything from visiting Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen with my mother and sister, to delighting in post-hunting drinks and dockside parties with my father and brother. And endless evening walks with Sif, their tiny dog, who spent my last night at their home curled up on my bed like she knew I was leaving. My whole year was an exercise in self-exploration. Somehow, I had turned into the person I wanted to be. I stepped out onto the tarmac at the airport in Mumbai with the confidence of a butterfly with brightly coloured wings, proud of the effort I had invested in becoming someone I truly love. My transformative year in Denmark has carried me through both good times and bad.

Even now, at 26 years old, not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. I am eternally grateful to 16-year-old me for taking the big leap out of her comfort zone and finding happiness within herself.

So without further ado, I present risengrød, a dish to make when you need a taste of what I think is the ultimate comfort—a Danish Christmas celebration.

This recipe makes enough for 4 people, with a total cooking time of about 40–45 minutes. Feel free to adjust and measure with your heart’s desire.

Ingredients:

● 1 and ¼ cups short grain rice (arborio rice works great)

● 1 cup of water

● 4 and ⅔ cups milk (oat or almond works well for those on a dairy-free diet)

● Salt to taste—just a pinch

● Cinnamon sugar for serving (the more generous, the better). A 2:2 ratio is just right; 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar

● Butter for serving (Lurpak Unsalted for the purists). 1 teaspoon, but really, as much as you can stand

Method:

1. Add all the water and rice to a pot and put on medium heat.

2. Allow the rice to cook while stirring and wait until all the water has been absorbed.

3. Add the milk and a pinch of salt. Bring it to a simmer, lower the heat, and cover the pot.

4. Check the rice every few minutes and give it a stir to make sure nothing is burning at the bottom.

5. Let it cook for about 30 minutes until the milk has been semi-absorbed and the rice has reached a pudding-like, thick consistency. Add a little more milk if you prefer your dish to be a bit more soupy (I promise not to judge).

6. Serve warm in a bowl with the cinnamon sugar and butter. Enjoy!

PS: Risengrød is not to be confused with risalamande (rice pudding with almonds), the evil twin of the two rice dishes.