Rice porridge, also known as rice congee throughout Asia, is the #1 dish to eat the first few days after birth. Traditionally used in both Chinese medicine as well as Ayurveda, this simple dish contains all the qualities necessary to jump start your postpartum recovery.
Hot, soft, oily, sweet and well spiced, this rice pudding is deeply nourishing as well as comforting. It not only soothes the nerves, but also nourishes the tissues, stimulates digestion, and rebuilds the blood. This rice porridge is medicine for mamas! Enjoy!
New Mother's Rice Porridge
Ingredients
- 8 C water
- 1 C basmati rice
- 1 1/2 C raw brown sugar or molasses
- 1/2 C ghee or sesame oil
- 2 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 3/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/2 tsp clove powder
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- pinch of cayenne (optional)
Instructions
- Rinse rice several times until the water runs clear.
- Bring water to a boil and add rice. Reduce heat to a simmer.
- Cook with the lid on, stirring occasionally for several hours.
- When the rice begins to thicken, add sugar, spices and ghee.
- When the consistency is gelatinous, take off heat and serve hot.
Notes
Be sure to add this rice porridge recipe into your postpartum care plan. This is one of the most helpful recipes for the 1st phase of postpartum recovery. It should be your main recipe for the first 3 days after birth. Organize someone to cook it while you are in labor, so it will be ready as soon as you are hungry after the birth.
For a complete menu of healing postpartum recipies, buy Mama’s Menu: Ayurvedic Recipes for Postpartum Healing
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Thanks! Wondering if I could cook this in advance, freeze and thaw out for my husband to bring to the hospital?
It would be best if your husband (or other support person) could put it together in a slow cooker when you leave for the hospital, for it to cook during your labor. Then you can have him bring it to you fresh when you are ready:) I don’t recommend freezing it, if you have another option. Frozen postpartum rice pudding is better than hospital food for sure, but freezing food in general makes it harder on your already sensitive digestion. Fresh is best, but if you are going to freeze it, make sure it’s hot, soupy with extra ghee when served. Blessings on your birth!
is it really 16C water for 1C rice? That seems like a lot of water.
Yes, it is a ton of water and yes, this is correct. Remember you are cooking this rice porridge for a few hours with the lid off. For the first couple weeks after birth, always use more water than you normally would, and cook the food extra long. You can get away with using 10 cups if you cook this same recipe in a pressure cooker for 1 hour. This rice porridge should get to a gelatinous consistency.
The recipe did not work for me. I doubled the rice and put 25 cups of water (thinking it would be thicker pudding). I used brown bastmati rice that I soaked for 2 days.. Followed instructions and 6 hours later still watery. What can I do to thicken it up?
You should use regular basmati rice, not brown basmati. Try 8 cups of water and 1 cup of rice.
Hi, there, this sounds delicious. I’m confused how to make in a slow cooker- it says 8 cups of water in the stovetop recipe and then to reduce by 8 cups in the slow cooker. So would you not use any water in the slow cooker?
So sorry. Fixed the mistake. 8 cups either way is good, as long as you leave the lid on.
What about the amount of sugar is that correct? I understand that certain sugars are beneficial during this time… but this seems like a lot for 4 servings?
Hi Christina, I know it sounds like a lot! I actually cut the amount of sugar from the traditional recipe that I received with my training. You can always add less at first and see how it feels. Mamas need that extra quick energy in the early days postpartum. Mamas love it!
Could I substitute the water for a bone broth? It seems like my blood sugar would super spike from this recipe as it is.
I know it sounds like a lot of sugar, but shortly after birth sugars can be very helpful in giving you easily accessible energy and are easy on the body to process. I don’t see any conflict with using bone broth as a replacement instead of sugar in this recipe. Give it a try and please let us know how it works out for you. Would love to hear the feedback.
Can I use sesame seed oil instead of ghee?
Yes.
Why does it say vegan if there’s Ghee?
Thank you for noticing this. I updated the recipe to include sesame oil.
Hello, Could coconut oil be an equally amazing/beneficial lol substitute for sesame oil?
Unfortunately not. I know it has become very popular these days. Postpartum mothers should use coconut oil with caution because it is very very cooling. The body after birth grows very cold and that is why it is important to counteract with heat and heating foods and spices. A little coconut oil is fine, but as a staple, no – especially in the first weeks.
Thank you for the insight!
One more questions, when you say sweet fruits which do you mean?
Thanks! Your site is super helpful!
Basically, ripe fruits! If a fruit isn’t ripe, it may be sour or astringent.
Hey can coconut sugar be used instead of brown sugar or maybe even without sugar? I am on a low sugar diet due to imbalances, tried cooking this already and had some issues so just thinking is there anything less intense than sugar or even a sugar free option that will have the same benefits?
Thanks so much
Yes, coconut sugar is great. Jaggery too. You can reduce the sugar by half. Not adding any sweetener will change the properties somewhat, but if you need to be on low/no sugar diet, than no sugar may be healthier for you. You could try maple flavored monk fruit sweetener, for a yummy sugar-free alternative.
Thsnks for sharing!! Could you use honey instead of sugar?
You could if you really want to. A couple of things to know about honey. It is toxic if heated. You would need to add it in at the very end once off the heat. You need to add less honey than sugar, so you would need to experiment with out how much. The other thing is that honey is the only sweetener that has a scraping action in the body, and is an expectorant. During postpartum rejuvenation, you are trying to upbuild bodily tissue… not get rid of it. Therefore, it is not the sweetener of choice for postpartum rejuvenation. The sweeteners of choice would be coconut sugar, date sugar, raw cane sugar and molasses.
How long does this last in the fridge?
24 hours to receive the most benefit.
Do you keep the lid on or off in the crock pot/slow cooker?
Lid on!
Hello there. How high should I set my slow cooker? It only has a low, medium and high setting.
Gratitude and health to all.
Emmy x
Try medium.
can you add fruits to this? am looking at the prepackaged kit and the apple and pear ones sound delicious but trying to make myself for more affordable if I can. Thanks!
It’s best to add crystalized ginger or dates for the first 3 weeks. Then after digestion is strong, you could try adding other fruits.😊
Hi! Could this be made in an instant pot as well?
Absolutely! Instapots are great for postpartum. Programmable and have a warm feature.