Topic: British Indian 2go Pillau rice

[Aussie Mick]

And yes Rubydoo, I also remember yellow rice. Many places boiled their rice in water that contained turmeric to give it an overall yellow colour. raj suggested that I should do this, but I said no. lol.

[RubyDoo]

And yes Rubydoo, I also remember yellow rice. Many places boiled their rice in water that contained turmeric to give it an overall yellow colour. raj suggested that I should do this, but I said no. lol.

Discussed this elsewhere on forum and I think a bit of powdered food colour is best as there is no danger of adding flavour as with the turmeric. Not suggesting either is right or wrong but for me there is just a little something added by the aesthetics of the yellow tinge. 

[RubyDoo]

Or Kashmiri masala oil    - yum but that is a whole new discussion

[Peripatetic Phil]

BTW, the amount of rice that we cook, and the tiny proportion of the Shan product (one packet to about 40 trays of rice) we use leaves the rice white, apart from the coloured bits.

OK, one packet to 40 trays won't make a great deal of difference in colour; I think that what triggered George and I to believe that it might be off-white, or even "murky brown" was the original proportions that you posted :

Add some Shan Pillau Biryani mix. (If you are cooking enough for 4 servings, you will only need about a quarter of a packet)

i.e., 16:1 rather than 40:1

** Phil.

[Aussie Mick]

Ok Sorry Phil. I "guessed" at the quarter packet late at night after a big day.

Sometimes we sprinkle in a packet and a half, depends how much rice we have made.

But the rice is always white

[Aussie Mick]

Not easy to find Kashmiri masala here mate. even if/when we do, there is very little oil on top. The only brands available that I have found are Ahmed and Ashoka.

[Peripatetic Phil]

And now an apology from Phil : on checking, I see that my pulao masala is MDH, not Shan, so there is no basis at all for my belief that Mick's pulao might not be white.

** Phil.

[Secret Santa]

I can sort of see where George is coming from and I think it's that of a BIR purist. BIR pilau is always flavoured with whole spices and may also be coloured with food colouring and sometimes turmeric. If, as Mick is doing, you start adding ground spices then you're verging towards a more Biryani style rice. Honestly I don't see that it matters though as long as the punters like it.

[Aussie Mick]

BTW Rubydoo

Before opening the shop I always made C2go rice at home in the pressure cooker, unwashed just as Julians book instructed and it was perfect everytime.

I made a batch at the shop for Raj to try and he wouldn't even try a teaspoonful because it hadn't been washed. He agreed that it looked/smelt very good, but absolutely refused to put any of it into his body lol.

This is when he showed me this version, and I have got to say, it is really, really good. It really is amzing how much crap comes out of the rice when you wash it thoroughly.

[Unclebuck]

George, you /know/ that you are being intentionally provocative, and you know that there is nothing you can do about it : it is just in your nature.  But do you have any /evidence/ that Aussie Mick's rice is brown rather than pure white with flecks of intense colour ?  From my experience with Shan Pulao mix I would expect it to be a rather murky brown, but unless/until Mick posts some pictures neither of us can be sure.  So why not give Mick the benefit of the doubt and just ask him nicely "Could you post some pictures of your rice, please, Mick ?  I'd like to see how it compares with my mental model of perfect BIR rice.".  If you do that, no-one will take offence, and we will all benefit.

** Phil.

Phil, you get the post of the week! like a parent talking to a child.