Less work, same or better results: washing rice, pre-cooked chicken, Bombay Aloo

[Peripatetic Phil]

Apologies for lumping together various ideas concerning four separate dishes, but none seemed worthy of a new thread in its own right. 

Over the last few days, I have been experimenting with the idea that some of our preconceptions may be worth re-visiting : in particular, the need to thoroughly wash Basmati rice, the need to pre-cook chicken, and the need for two different base/spice mixes for making Bombay Aloo.  There is no suggestion on my part that any of these ideas are new : the first, for example, has been challenged by Dave Loyden in his book Undercover Curry, and the second, quite recently, by Ramirez & by Natterjack in the thread entitled "Hi -- Newbie here !!". 

Nonetheless, I was less than convinced that I could achieve results comparable to those I have come to expect if I were to omit what I have, until now, regarded as vital steps, but I am delighted to be able to report that I have now prepared four simplified versions of some of my standard dishes (Pilau rice, Chicken Madras, Bombay Aloo and Chinese-style fried rice), all with equal success and all to at least the standard that I had been previously achieving with more work.

For the Pilau rice, I softened some dried sliced garlic in hot-but-not-very-hot ghee, then added the dry, unwashed, Basmati rice and various whole spices and bhooned gently until the rice started to take on a more opaque appearance; I then added boiling water and salt, brought the whole lot to the boil, transferred everything to a round Pyrex casserole dish (with lid), and then put it in the microwave oven where I finished it off in my normal way (about 12 mins at full power, and then as long as necessary/desired at 20%).

For the Madras chicken, I omitted all but the garlic and ginger paste from Natterjack's marinade recipe, and marinaded a whole chicken, cut into curry-sized pieces, in the refrigerator for about six hours (breast de-skinned, wings slit, legs left with skin on because they were destined for Chinese Chicken-with-chilli-and-black-bean-sauce).  When I came to make the curry, I gently bhooned a mixture of Bassar Curry Masala (2 teaspoons), Cumin (2 teaspoons), Kashmiri Mirch (1 teaspoon), Ground Methi (1 teaspoon) and Rajah All-Purpose Seasoning (1 teaspoon) in some hot-but-not-very-hot rice bran oil, then added about 12 pieces of marinaded chicken and continued to bhoon until the chicken had lost its raw appearance and started to firm.  I then added a little KD1/PC base (whole onions, whole garlic, unpeeled ginger, : more simplifications !), and kept stirring, heating and adding until 3/4 pint of base had been added without the dish ceasing to bubble.  I then cooked at a gentle boil for five minutes, backed off the heat for about three further minutes, added some chopped coriander stalks, stirred well and served.

For the Bombay Aloo, I used Curry Barking Mad's local restaurant style of pre-cooking the potatoes (Exquisa, in my case), but before I added the water I noticed that the dish already looked and smelled very attractive in its own right, although of course the potatoes were not yet cooked.  I therefore followed through with his method, but after removing the potatoes and setting them aside, I then reduced the remaining stock back to 150ml and reserved this for the final dish, rather than using additional base and spices.  I then bhooned together 1 Onion, finely diced; 1 Red chilli, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon Garlic & Ginger puree; and 1 tablespoon tomato puree, and once the spices had ceased to be raw, added the potato pieces (about 20 in total) and cooked together for a few minutes, then slowly added the 150ml of reduced base from the pre-cook stage, endeavouring  to ensure that the pan never ceased bubbling, and then continued to cook for about five minutes until the dish was ready to serve.

The final experiment was Chinese-style fried rice, using Basmati rice (which I prefer : my wife prefers Thai fragrant), but again with no pre-washing.  All previous attempts to eliminate the need to pre-wash the rice have resulted in a nasty sticky mess, but on this occasion I decided to try the Pulao technique (see above) using rice bran oil rather than ghee and no spices.  So, I added the dry, unwashed, Basmati rice to some hot-but-not-very-hot rice bran oil and bhooned gently until the rice started to take on a more opaque appearance; I then added boiling water, salt and monosodium glutamate, brought the whole lot to the boil, transferred everything to a round Pyrex casserole dish (with lid), and then put it in the microwave oven where I finished it off in my normal way (about 12 mins at full power, and then about 20 minutes at 20%).  Finally I heated a little more rice bran oil in the wok, put in two beaten eggs with egg yellow, stirred them vigorously until they were almost cooked and well broken up, then added the rice and fried for a few minutes.  Finally I added some chopped spring onion (green part only), gave everything a quick stir, and served garnished with a little sesame oil.

So, four simplified dishes, but no reduction in quality.  Both the pulao rice and the Chinese fried rice were noticeably stick-free (every grain separate, and all the rice grains retaining their shape), the chicken in the Chicken Madras was wonderfully flavoured and lacked nothing compared to my former pre-cooked chicken, and the Bombay Aloo was very moreish and a great pleasure to eat.  All in all, a very successful series of experiments, and I will certainly be using these simplified methods in the future.

** Phil.

[Stephen Lindsay]

Phil

I've never pre-rinsed rice and I always produce good basmati. As for chicken I pre-cook and don't bother depending on how arsed I can be! Again I think both ways produce excellent results.

Steve

[Peripatetic Phil]

I've never pre-rinsed rice and I always produce good basmati.

Interesting !  Do you fry the rice dry ?
** Phil.

[natterjak]

I'm pleased to hear you felt the chicken cooked from raw lacked nothing of the pre-cooked chicken to which you are accustomed, however my hope was that you would feel it was actually an improvement, as my experience is that cooking from raw produces a far more succulent and more tender result.

[loveitspicy]

"simplified methods" - always the way to go in my book Phil - great read - Ta
best, Rich

[Peripatetic Phil]

I'm pleased to hear you felt the chicken cooked from raw lacked nothing of the pre-cooked chicken to which you are accustomed, however my hope was that you would feel it was actually an improvement, as my experience is that cooking from raw produces a far more succulent and more tender result.

Ah, well, I didn't intend to disappoint ...  But I have always erred on the undercooked side with my pre-cooked chicken (KD says about 15 minutes, mine gets about eight), so I have not really experienced overcooked chicken per se, except on the odd occasion when I have re-spiced an existing curry on a second or subsequent night.  I am sure that you are right : if you fully pre-cook, then it will be hard to retain the succulence and tenderness when you make the curry.

** Phil.

[coogan]

Good post Phil, I do not think it is necessary step to fry the basmati rice or whole spices at all - I cannot see this process happening in BIR's. I just crucially soak the rice for 30 mins and then rapid boil for 4 mins with the spices. When making a normal curry i.e. Not with Tikka I do not pre-cook the chicken but always marinate it for at least 6 hours first. With beef or lamb I do slowly pre-cook it in a spiced liquor to impart flavor and induce tenderness.

Bon curry

[Peripatetic Phil]

I do not think it is necessary step to fry the basmati rice or whole spices at all - I cannot see this process happening in BIR's. I just crucially soak the rice for 30 mins and then rapid boil for 4 mins with the spices.

Now that I find very interesting, because the very first time I pre-fried the dry Basmati rice, I obtained a very significant improvement in the appearance and the texture of the finished pulao.  Before, my rice grains had invariably ended up mis-shapen (worm-like, in fact); with pre-frying, they retain their original shape, which is also the shape I associate with BIR pulao.  What shape are your grains at the end of the exercise, Coogan ?

** Phil.

[coogan]

Phil, I would say that the basmati rice ends up perfect - solid yet individually and fully formed without being under or over cooked. The same shape as the grains that came out of the jar but swollen and pure white.

The three crucial stages being. Soak for 30 mins in cold water. Boil gently for 4 mins only. Immediately rinse in a colander with cold water to prevent further cooking and to let the rice relax.

I then reheat when required in microwave or by pour boiling water through. If I was to say make mushroom rice I would fry onions, g/g, spice mix and the mushrooms and then combine with the already cooked rice and serve.

Bon pulao

[Peripatetic Phil]

Phil, I would say that the basmati rice ends up perfect - solid yet individually and fully formed without being under or over cooked. The same shape as the grains that came out of the jar but swollen and pure white.

The three crucial stages being. Soak for 30 mins in cold water. Boil gently for 4 mins only. Immediately rinse in a colander with cold water to prevent further cooking and to let the rice relax.

OK, I shall give it a try, but one comment and one request for clarification --

Comment -- For me, dry-frying was like stepping into a new world; never before had I achieved a genuine BIR-style pulao rice.  From that moment, I have never looked back.

Question -- In your earlier message, you spoke of "rapid boil[ing] for 4 mins", and in the more recent one "Boil[ing] gently for 4 mins ".  It is difficult for me to reconcile "rapid boiling" and "boiling gently", so I would really appreciate further guidance on how rapidly or how gently the rice should boil.

** Phil.