Topic: What to look for when buying rice - any tips

[JerryM]

making a bit of a hash on this

Rev3: the x1.9 above should have been x1.8 to give 10% reduction.

also i tried this with the dreaded chenab last night and although an improvement not yet quite there as a proven technique.

[976bar]

have been trying a range of rice:water ratio's and have settled on using 10% less water ie weigh the rice then add x1.9 the rice weight in water. it seems to make a difference in that there appears to be less chance of getting overcooked rice.

i'm still cooking as before: bring to boil, then on low 15 mins followed by 5 min resting off the heat. 

might be worth a try.

REv2 - apologies but the above stated 5 min resting time should have been be 10 mins

Hi Jerry,

I've never had a problem with rice and it really doesn't matter what grade basmati you buy. I even sometimes buy the value basmati from Tesco.

If you're using say 1 mug of rice, then wash it in a colander first until the water runs clear. Try not to agitate it with your hands too much or the rice will break in half. Then let the rice stand in the colander for a while.

I boil my rice first. So put it into a saucepan and cover it with boiling water. Add some salt and this is personal preference. Add just enough water so that its about 3/4" above the level of the rice. Too much water and the rice is soggy, not enough and it doesn't cook properly, so this is the bit that will be try and error for you, but about 3/4" is a good starting point.

Boil the rice for about 2-3 minutes hard, with the lid on so the lid is rattling!!!! Then reduce the heat to the lowest setting possible on you're cooker and just gently steam the rice for another 8-9 minutes or until the rice particles are just soft. This will give you the perfect boiled rice. Then take the lid off and just let it simmer for about another minute just so that any excess moisture in the rice evaporates.

If I am going to fry the rice, I would add a small knob of butter in a pan and add the cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, whatever whole masala you would want to use. However, after having washed the rice, then it needs to be totally dry. So I usually empty the rice onto a few sheets of kitchen towel and cover with a few more sheets. When the rice is dry I add it to the Whole cardamom mixture which would have been frying gently for about 20-30 seconds or until you get that aroma coming from the pan. Coat the rice well in the butter/whole masala mixture and fry for about a minute or so, then add the water as in the boiled section above and cook using that method.

If after the rice is done you are going to put it in the oven and make proper pilau rice, then you need to empty the rice into dishes and let it dry thoroughly before you finally add the colouring (if using) and finishing off in the oven at 50 deg C for about 20 minutes.

Once you have removed the rice from the oven, just fluff it up a bit with a fork.

[JerryM]

976bar,

many thanks - u may have something here. i add i'm only interested and talking boiled rice.

u're method is very much along the lines of what i'm doing with a subtle difference.

on the Zebra rice instructions it say's to look out for when the water level reduces below the rice suggesting that the to go period is critical. the prior volume of rice must also be critical. i'd add judging when the water level reduces is easier said than done.

i've been trying to control this through weight (make the cooking fool proof). u're method relies on volume. i think u're method will better cater for the different grain size across different brands ie the x1.8 method works spot on for Zebra and Shamir but still too high for chenab. x1.5 is too little for all 3.

i'll keep u posted.

[976bar]

976bar,

many thanks - u may have something here. i add i'm only interested and talking boiled rice.

u're method is very much along the lines of what i'm doing with a subtle difference.

on the Zebra rice instructions it say's to look out for when the water level reduces below the rice suggesting that the to go period is critical. the prior volume of rice must also be critical. i'd add judging when the water level reduces is easier said than done.

i've been trying to control this through weight (make the cooking fool proof). u're method relies on volume. i think u're method will better cater for the different grain size across different brands ie the x1.8 method works spot on for Zebra and Shamir but still too high for chenab. x1.5 is too little for all 3.

i'll keep u posted.

Hi Jerry,

Trust me, adding water to the rice when the water level has gone down past the rice level will only result in soggy rice, no matter what grade of rice you use.

There will be sufficient water within the pot to finish the rice on. All I would say is don't keep lifting the lid of the pot as any condensation/steam will quickly evaporate and you might end up the other way and have rice which isn't cooked.

I've been cooking rice like this for over 10 years and once that lid is on it doesn't come off again until the rice is cooked.

Happy cooking

[Cory Ander]

I'm currently using "India Gate Classic - 1 year matured Basmati Rice" (recommended by the shop owner...but probably because he makes most profit on it  ). 

But it's very good, reasonably priced, loooong grains and soft, fragrant/aromatic.  I'm not sure you'd do much  better?

[976bar]

I'm currently using "India Gate Classic - 1 year matured Basmati Rice" (recommended by the shop owner...but probably because he makes most profit on it  ). 

But it's very good, reasonably priced, loooong grains and soft, fragrant and aromatic.  I'm not sure you'd do much  better?

Hi CA,

Where do you get this from please? as I have not seen this one before and would like to try it

[Cory Ander]

I get it from the Asian store 976 

.....which happens to currently be in Australia! 

But, it's supplied by "KRBL Limted", an Indian company (Dheli) who, they claim, "are the world's largest rice miller and basmati rice exporters"  (well, they would, wouldn't they  :)...but it IS good stuff! 

you can email them at customercare@krblindia.com

[976bar]

I get it from the Asian store 976 

.....which happens to currently be in Australia! 

But, it's supplied by "KRBL Limted", an Indian company (Dheli) who, they claim, "are the world's largest rice miller and basmati rice exporters"  (well, they would, wouldn't they  :)...but it IS good stuff! 

you can email them at customercare@krblindia.com

Ha Ha, I'll e-mail them to find out if it's distributed in England. I am sure it is......

So come on tell us......

Have you had the Koala Korma? or the odd Posum Madras?..... lol do tell all!!

[JerryM]

Trust me, adding water to the rice when the water level has gone down past the rice level will only result in soggy rice, no matter what grade of rice you use.

sorry not been clear enough. water for me too only goes in once and the lid then stays on.

what i think the packet instructions are saying is that ideally the start of the simmer is when the water is level with the rice. they (as u) use volume to get to the total amount of water to be added. i'd (i think) incorrectly thought weighing would be more accurate.

please post any details on the India Gate rice suppliers in the UK. i've not seen it locally.

i should just add that the cooked Zebra rice is 100% spot on for me. my interest is now in how to cook a poor quality rice (like the chenab) to get the best out of it. i still have not far short of 20kg of the stuff.

[976bar]

Trust me, adding water to the rice when the water level has gone down past the rice level will only result in soggy rice, no matter what grade of rice you use.

sorry not been clear enough. water for me too only goes in once and the lid then stays on.

what i think the packet instructions are saying is that ideally the start of the simmer is when the water is level with the rice. they (as u) use volume to get to the total amount of water to be added. i'd (i think) incorrectly thought weighing would be more accurate.

please post any details on the India Gate rice suppliers in the UK. i've not seen it locally.

i should just add that the cooked Zebra rice is 100% spot on for me. my interest is now in how to cook a poor quality rice (like the chenab) to get the best out of it. i still have not far short of 20kg of the stuff.

Hi Jerry, as I said earlier, I sometimes buy the "Value" brand of basmati rice from tesco and still cook it in the same manner and have not had any problems yet.