Friday, September 7, 2007

AROMATIC RICE











This is a fairly simple recipe, but is quite flavorful & the spices make it blissfully aromatic. Just a whiff of this is enough to make you soar..........was that too much of a description??

Well go ahead, make it & see if you soar.
My measurings will do good for two people for a single meal.

Ingredients -

1 tall glass - good quality basmati rice, washed & soaked in water for about 20 mins
2 tbsp - ghee
2 big onions - finely sliced
about 10 pepper corns (black)
5 cardamom pods crushed
2/3 - Bay Leaves
1 tsp - Cumin seeds
4/5 - cloves
1 inch stick of - cinnamon, broken down to small peices
8/10 - cashews (fried)
10/15 - raisins (fried)
a few strands of saffron.

Method -
In a pan, add the ghee & when hot, add all the khada masalas, i.e., the cumin, clove, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon & bay leaves (in that order).
When they give out their aroma, add the onions & fry pink (if you want a whitish coloured rice) & fry slightly brown (if you want a golden coloured rice).
Add the drained rice to this & fry them for about 2/3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the cashew & the raisins. Also add the saffron strands
Now add double the water of the rice, i.e, in this case, two glasses, add salt & stir well
Cover the pan & cook till done, stirring occassionaly.
Perfection calls for the rice to be well done when the water evaporates.
Oh Oh - I forgot to add that putting in about a squeeze of lemon while adding the water allows the rice to be cooked to their maximum length.
Serve with anything, but best had with a nice tangy chutney or a spicy pickle or a flavored simple raita.

3 comments:

Finla said...

I love your rice dish.
Woudn't mind to have a plate full of them :-)))

Shella said...

Thanks. Yes, you can eat them till you satisfy your soul. They are that good, & with so many flavors, they are lovely to have all by themselves. Try & let me know how they were. N they are my all time favorite when it comes to attending to a unexpected guest & you dont have too many veggies to spare in the refrigerator.

Lissie said...

thank you shella for visiting my blog! a very special thanx for putting my page on yours, that too right in front!!! i was pretty amazed to see it!
your aromatic rice seems to be delicious! looking forward to see new recipes from your collection.