Blade the quantity of above spices will be adequate for 3 take-away sizes portions .
So if you now how much uncooked rice will make 3 cooked rice portions, sorry but i always do it by eye !!
That will be enough, incidentally it isn't that critical, you will know straight away if you`ve got it right or not (it`s not as hard as getting a curry right by a long shot!!).The rice will turn out fragrant & compliment your curry MMMM!!!! ;D ;D ;D
Recently i`ve been cooking all the spices together(covered) in the Microwave in a little water ;D ;D for 20 seconds or little longer until they are a little soft.
& then adding them to the cooked drained rice this gives excellent results. Hope this is of help feel free to ask anything else coz my rice is ace !!!

Just tried it. Cooked it for about 14mins then rinsed in cold water. Each grain is perfectly seperate.  It must be the rinsing cold after cooking that is the key !! Thank you.

Anyway, got the base, got the rice, got some chicken tikka defrosting from a previous batch. Now where's that flour..... chapatti time !!!

Stealing wholesale from Natco-online website  ... http://www.natco-online.com/acatalog/Holy_Grail.html ... but this recipe is dead easy and is pretty perfect.  My comments are in [[brackets]]

Pilau Rice [[Mix it and leave it Recipe!]]

Fill and switch on your kettle
Whilst this is happening heat up a little oil in a pan that comes with a tight fitting lid [[I use about one teaspoon of oil for two 3oz portions. Careful, it could get too oily!!]]
Allow 3oz of BASMATI rice per person (weigh it!!! And it must be basmati ? nothing else works! You can also be boring and soak the rice in water first but I never bother) [[note that 3oz of rice is a small portion per person]]
Salt to taste
2 green cardamom pods (split open slightly) per rice serving
1 whole clove per serving

When the oil is warm, add the raw rice and spices together [[stir! stir! stir!]]
Mix well, ensuring the rice gets coated in the oil ? don?t worry if it starts to turn white
Turn down the heat to minimum
Quickly pour the boiled water into a measuring jug
(allow double the fl oz of water to the rice weight)  ie for 4 portions: 12 oz of rice and 24 fl oz of boiled water. [[so for two 3oz portions you do 12fl oz of water]]
Stir everything around to stop any sticking and place the lid on securely
Cook for 12 minutes on the lowest heat setting [[should only need to check it once!]]
After 12 minutes take from heat and leave for another 12 minutes (do not remove the lid ? the steam will continue to cook the rice!!!)

Later take the lid off and you can add a drop or two of food colouring for that restaurant effect ( I use a drop of red at one end of the pot and a drop of green at the other ? leave for a while and then mix through the white rice for a realistic effect) [[how cool is that?!]]

I would normally make the rice first and, while it is resting, knock up the curry sauce.  The rice stays hot like this for a couple of hours if you don?t keep removing the lid and let the steam escape!)

This recipe will give impressive results if you measure/time things accurately.

(For plain boiled rice, omit the spices and food colouring).

[[only thing to add, and apologies for singing to the choir on this, is that rice cooks on the plate so almost done in the pan is done on the table!]]

I do agree with Darth on this one. Make this rice to his instructions and you will have a dish that you can't distinguish from a BIR, in fact I think better.

The packet instructions on Basmati rice could not be more misleading. Most tell you to cook it for 15-20 mins. I get Rice Pudding if I do this!

Cooking for 6-8 mins is just right as like Darth says it continues to cook itself beyond this.

I also add a 1 oz knob of butter which they do in the Balti Kitchen Video ( weight watchers beware! ).
This gives it a slight stickiness ( although the grains are still seperate ) which you get in many BIR rice dishes, but either way this is a perfect rice.

And as Dee Dee points out adding some colouring either side of the pan once it is cooked then gently stirring makes for a great colouring effect that impresses everyone.

When it comes to rice I think at? least we can say we have cracked this one!!

Ray

Hi

Have tried Dylan's recipe twice now, yesterdays was good, today - boiled basmati rice for 8 mins, let stand for 10-15, didn't use star anise today but did us 1 tsp cumin seeds, result: perfect!? Almost exactly like my favourite restaurant.? Thanks Dylan - had been looking for the secret for a while.

Kacey