Basmati rice Archives | The Indian Foodie

This recipe is morphed from Mama’s Biryani recipe. Sometimes, I would serve Vegetarian Biryani instead of Biryani with meat or chicken. This saved me the hassle of fixing two types of pilafs for a lunch or dinner party. I would pair it with channa dal, two different styles of sabzis (Indian sauteed vegetables), a paneer curry, and a non-vegetarian dish. Along with that came the usual array of pickles, raita, and rotis. It made quite a meal!

There is a less elaborate Vegetarian Pilaf, which I shall share as well.

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Vegetable Biriyani

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 10

Servings 6

An array of exotic spices infuse this layered dish of Basmati rice mixed with chicken, beef, or vegetables to tempt the most fastidious eater.

Ingredients

5 cups Basmati rice
½ cup oil (plus a little extra, if needed)
2 Bay leaves
4 cinnamon sticks (or ½ tsp cinnamon powder)
1 large black cardamom
6 small green cardamoms
6 cloves (or ¼ teaspoon clove powder)
3 large onions (peeled, cut in half, and sliced thin)
2 medium Serrano chilies (washed, remove stem, and slice in half)
3 tbsp ginger paste (freshly ground is best, but ready-made is fine, too)
2 tbsp garlic paste (freshly ground is best, but ready-made is fine, too)
½ cup fresh green coriander ground fine (mainly leaves, but a portion of stem is okay)
3 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder (or to your taste—remember this and the green chilies will add heat to the pilaf)
6 medium tomatoes (finely chopped or puréed)
1 tbsp poppy seeds ground smooth (optional)
1 can coconut milk (or the fleshy, white part of 1 fresh coconut ground smooth with the poppy seed)
8 cups water (plus a little extra)
2 cups peas and diced carrots (you may combine it with other vegetables such as cauliflower, cut into flowerets, or diced beans)
2 tbsp mint leaves (finely chopped)
2 tbsp chopped fresh green coriander leaves
Salt (to taste)
2 limes (juice only)

Garnish

½ onion (or use pre-fried store-bought onions to make it easy)
sautéed cashews (or use cocktail cashews)
sautéed raisins

Instructions

To Prepare

Gather all the ingredients before you start.
Wash and soak the 5 cups of rice for 15-20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Mix coconut milk, ground poppy seed(optional), and 8 cups water.
Together they should measure 10 cups plus 2 tablespoons of liquid.
Combine chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves with the juice of 2 limes in a small bowl.

To Cook

Heat ½ cup of oil in an 8-quart heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat. You may need a tablespoon or two extra as you start to sautée.
Add the whole Bay leaf cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves.
Add cut onions and slit green chilies.
When half-fried (about 6 minutes), add the ground ginger, garlic, spice powders (including the ground cinnamon and cloves, in case you decided to use them instead of the whole ones), and green coriander paste.
Fry for about 3-4 minutes until fragrant, then add the chopped and pureed tomatoes. Sauté for another 5 minutes.
Now add the drained rice and sauté on medium heat, stirring carefully to not break up the rice grains. About 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the water, coconut milk, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil.
Once the water starts to boil (10-15 minutes), add the vegetables and cook on medium-low until the water is almost evaporated and you see little pits on top of the rice.
Stir gently. Sprinkle the chopped mint, coriander, and lemon mix over the rice.
Put on low and cook another 10 minutes until the pits disappear on top and the rice is cooked. You can test by testing a grain between your thumb and forefinger. If it's grainy, let it cook for a little more, but make sure the underside is not getting burnt.
Fluff with a fork and plate on a rice platter or serving dish.
Garnish with sauteéd onions, cashews, and raisins.

Notes

You can also finish cooking the rice in the oven. When pits start forming on the rice’s surface, stir carefully. Your pot should be oven-proof. If not, pour the rice into a roaster pan or oven-proof dish large enough to hold the rice. Sprinkle with the chopped mint coriander and lemon juice mix. Bake for half an hour at 200°F. Remove from oven and fluff rice before transferring to a serving platter. Garnish with the sautéed onions, cashews, and raisins.

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Basmati, biriyani, vegetarian

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Next to wheat, rice is one of India’s leading food staples. Most dals and curries go well with plain boiled white rice. In India, a majority of households use plain cooked rice in their meals at least once during the day. There are different types of rice:

Short-grained—high in starch and tends to be sticky

Medium-grained—longer and a little chewy when cooked

Long-grained rice—less starchy with a firmer texture and excellent for pilafs.

The popular Basmati rice is a long-grained rice grown at the foothills of the Himalayas, both in India and Pakistan. It is mainly used for pilafs and Biryanis and has a nutty popcorn fragrance. The name Basmati originates from the Sanskrit word Vasmati which means fragrant.

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Saada Ubala Hua Saphed Chavaal (Plain Boiled White Rice)

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 5

Total Time 35

Servings 4

A leading food staple in India, most dals and curries go well with plain boiled white rice.

Ingredients

2 cups white Basmati rice
3¾ cups water

Instructions

Place the rice in a medium bowl.
Half-fill the bowl with water and wash the grains by gently sifting and rubbing the rice with your fingers. Do this at least 4 times.
Now add enough water to the bowl just to cover the rice and let the rice soak in the water for 15 minutes. (You can skip the step if you are in a hurry, but add 4 cups of water when boiling).
Rinse and strain the rice through a rice or fine strainer under running water.
Transfer the rice to a medium pot and add 3¾-cups of water.
Stir the rice and bring the uncovered rice to a boil on medium heat. It takes about 15-20 minutes.
Once it comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat to low, stir gently, and cover the rice with a tight lid.
Let it simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Try not to uncover the rice and stir at this stage, as it will allow the steam to escape, making the rice drier.
Turn off the heat and let sit undisturbed for 5-7 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork by gently lifting the rice up all around the pot, and-breaking up any clumps.
Transfer to a serving bowl or dish when ready to serve.
Plain boiled rice tastes good with any dal and any curried-style meats or vegetables. You can serve it as a meal with the usual array of pickles, raitas, papads, and chutneys.

Notes

Test for Doneness:

Crush a few rice grains against a flat surface to test for doneness. If it feels grainy, then the rice is not done. If that happens, sprinkle about a tablespoon of water over the rice and let it sit on low heat for 5 minutes. Or, you can place it in the oven at 180F temp for 10 minutes.

Stovetop and Oven Method:

Cook the rice on the stovetop in an oven-safe pot. Set your oven to 180 F. Once the water nearly evaporates and pits start forming on the rice's surface, turn off the heat and transfer the cooking pot to the oven. Let it bake for about 20 minutes until done.

Boiling Rice in Lots of Water:

Another way to fix rice is to wash and rinse the rice as above. Then in a pot, add about 4 times the water as rice (1:4 ratio). Bring the rice to a boil on medium heat, then reduce the heat and let the rice cook for 15 minutes. Test the grain to see if it's almost done. Turn off the heat. Now strain the rice through a rice strainer or fine sieve. Be careful of the steam! When all the water is drained, give the sieve a shake and put the rice back into the pot Cover with a tight lid and let it sit for 15 minutes before you fluff it.

Most Indian households, when using this method of cooking rice, save the water that has essential minerals and nutrients to drink later. This is especially so in the southern states of India where "kanji' (rice water ) is used as an energy booster for its healthy nutrients.

When we were kids and had an upset stomach, Mama always gave us plain soupy boiled rice and plain yogurt with pepper and salt to settle our stomachs. I still do that to this day whenever anyone in the house has an upset stomach.

Before synthetic starches came on the market in India, this starchy water (kanji) was diluted and used by our dhobis (people who washed our clothes in the absence of washing machines) to starch cotton shirt collars, kurtas, saris, and cotton table linen.

Be aware that cooking times may vary in higher altitudes, and you may need to increase the water by about 1/4 ounce and the resting time by about 5 minutes more.

If you are using white rice other than Basmati, follow the cooking instructions on the packet. Also do this when you are using a manual or electric pressure cooker, microwave oven, or rice cooker.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Indian

Keyword: Basmati, rice

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