Caramel Kheer

Soak basmati rice for one hour in cold water, allowing water to come 3-4cm (or 1-1.5in) above the rice (the rice will expand in water, so you want some extra water in the bowl to prevent the rice from drying out).
After the rice has soaked for one hour, place a large, heavy-bottomed pot (see notes above) on the stove on medium-high heat. When the pot has heated through, add 1L of boiling water.
Discard cold water from the rice and carefully transfer rice to boiling water with a pinch of salt. The rice will gently boil on medium-high heat.
Check rice after 6 minutes; it should break easily between your thumb and forefinger. There will be a bit of starchy liquid in the pot at this point in time; do not discard it.
Add milk, cream, and cardamom pods to the rice and starchy liquid. Stir and partially cover the pot with the lid (you want a little bit of steam to escape as it simmers, otherwise the milk will overflow). Set your timer to 20 minutes.
Stir every 4-5 minutes to ensure that the pudding does not catch at the bottom of the pot. You will see small bubbles while the pudding simmers.
At the 20-minute mark turn your stove off, remove the pudding from the burner and stir in the condensed milk (I added 200ml, but you may want to add 250ml). The pudding may look a bit thin, but don't worry, it will thicken as it cools.
Set aside and allow to come to room temperature before transferring it to a container.
Place in the fridge for 4-6 hours minimum, or overnight.

Make this right before serving. This is a very loose recipe; feel free to play around with it.
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add butter and when it starts to sizzle and turn brown, add breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and gently stir. When the breadcrumbs have absorbed the butter, add chopped walnuts and stir for two minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the caramel swirls.

Please note that this should be made when you have taken the pudding out of the fridge and are ready to serve, as the sugar will go from liquid to solid stage again fairly quickly.
Evenly sprinkle sugar in a saucepan and place on medium-high heat. Keep a vigilant eye on it. You don't want it to become too burnt. Slowly, it will transform into a thin liquid and turn a deep amber hue. You may have to swirl the saucepan a few times so the sugar melts evenly.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the sugar to cool for five minutes. You want the liquid to slightly thicken before swirling it onto the pudding.

You can serve the pudding in individual bowls or in a large bowl, to enjoy family style.
With a teaspoon, swirl the thickened caramel over each individual bowl of rice pudding. If you are serving it in a large dish (family style), swirl it onto the large bowl of pudding, spoonful by spoonful. The caramel will set to become candy. Add a dusting of buttered breadcrumbs and walnuts and enjoy.