As promised here's my tried and trusted recipe for pilau rice.In fact you can use the same method for boiled rice just miss out the spices and colour.
Ive never been any good at cooking rice.I've tried just about every recipe on here,even the so called fool proof methods.I even brought a rice cooker but that was no good.Every time I cooked rice I was just left with a big soggy clump of rice.Honestly,this method has never failed me,and I've used it countless times.If you follow my recipe you should be left with perfect fluffy rice.I remember seeing the technique before,perhaps on here so apologies if anyone recgonizes it.
First,the rice.I don't bother washing it.I've used washed rice and unwashed and there's never any difference to the final product.I'm guessing there my be a technical reason why you should wash your rice,and I've seen many BIR wash their rice but unwashed rice works for me so I'll stay with it.
This should make enough rice for 3-4 people.
First get a large pan on a medium heat,and about two tablespoons of ghee or veg oil and heat.Then add your spices.For this amount I added 3 green cardomons(slightly cracked),3 Indian bay leaves,1 small bit of casia,3 cloves,1 star anise.Also add a quarter teaspoon roughly each of mustard seeds,cumin seeds,fennel seeds,salt and onion seeds.Gently colour(do not burn)then add a tablespoon of ginger/garlic paste and stir.Then pour in your rice and coat in the oil/garlic/spice mixture.Pour in boiling water until the depth of the water is about a centimeter and a half above the rice.This is important,do not add a lot more or less as the rice won't cook properly.It doesn't matter how much rice you are cooking,the depth of water is always the same.
Bring the rice to the boil,stir it so nothing is stuck to the bottom,and boil with a lid on for about two minutes,the turn down the heat to it's lowest setting for another two minutes.Turn the heat off and leave the pan on the hot stove,with a lid on for about half an hour.Cover any holes in the saucepan lid with foil and don't be tempted to lift the lid within the half hour.This is the key to the rice absorbing the water.
After half an hour,gently fork the rice into a large baking tray.The rice may seem a bit stuck together.Don't worry,as soon as the rice is finished in the oven this will fix this.Add your colours(I use red,green and orange) and remove the large whole spices.Put the tray into a medium oven for another half an hour.After this,fork through and the rice should be perfect.I then let mine cool down,put into a fridge and then microwave when needed.
This is how my latest rice turned out....
Topic: pilau rice (Read 12031 times)
