Horchata

A horchata is a thick, creamy, and sweet rice cinnamon drink found at most Mexican restaurants that is similar to rice milk. It is simple and inexpensive to prepare and makes for a refreshing drink in the summer.

Ingredients
• ¾ cup basmati rice
• ⅓ cup peeled (often come slivered) almonds
• Seeds from 6 cardamom pods, coarsely crushed
• 5 cups water
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation
• Grind dry rice to a fine texture in a blender. Add crushed cardamom and cinnamon and set aside.
• Grind almonds with about ⅓ cup water in blender.
• Combine rice mixture and almond mixture in a large pitcher. Add about 4 cups of water and mix. Keep mixture covered overnight.
• The next morning, place the mixture and the sugar in a blender. Gradually adding ⅔ cup of water, blend until smooth.
• Pour the rice mixture through cheesecloth or clean paint filter into a separate container. Gently squeezing and stirring, extract the milk.
• Refrigerate the horchata (milk) for about 15 minutes before serving.

Makes about 4 glasses