Simply Rice with a twist

Hey Everyone. Thanks for stopping by.

Today I just wanted to share something that is so basic but done almost everyday - How to cook Rice.

In our home, we use Basmati Rice - just because it's tasty, light, and quick to prepare.

There are a few ways in which rice can be cooked - Boil, Steam, Absorption. In India, traditionally rice is cooked using the boiling method. But I follow the absorption method  because it's easy to cook Basmati rice using this method. For other types of rice I find it's best to follow the boiling method. I will explain both methods in the procedure.

These days we can even make use of a rice cooker or a microwave to cook rice. But I feel there isn't a need for it. A good saucepan or a large pot with a tight lid is all you need.

So What Do We Need ?

• 1 cup of Basmati Rice

First we need to rinse the rice. For this, take a bowl. Put the rice in and fill the bowl with water. With clean hands, stir the rice and water. In doing so, the water will turn white and cloudy. This is the excess starch getting rinsed off the grains. Drain this water out (you can use a strainer for this) and repeat the rinse. Keep repeating this till you see the water is fairly clear- around 3 or 4 times. Then soak the rice in some water for 10-15 minutes and drain the water out.

• Water to cook.
• Salt. As required (Optional - Reason being rice in general is eaten along with a gravy and some side dish which will already have salt in it. So there isn't a need to add salt to rice - But it's totally up to you.)

Now this is all you need if you want to prepare plain rice.

But ever so often I add the below ingredients for a " twist" - just to have more flavor.

• 2 Green Cardamoms
• 1 sprig of Curry leaves
• 1 Bay Leaf
• A pinch of Fennel seeds
• 1 Clove
• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Ginger powder

Let's Do This   

Absorption method

1. In a sauce pan which has a lid with it, add 1 cup of rinsed basmati rice and 2 cups of clean water.
2. Place the sauce pan over high flame and bring it to a boil.
3. Once it starts bubbling, add salt, reduce the flame to low and cover the saucepan with the lid.
4. Once the water we had added is completely gone (a little moisture is ok to have), turn off the flame and take the saucepan off the stove.
5. Keep aside with the lid on for another 5 minutes.
6. Then take the lid off and gently run a fork through the cooked rice to separate the grains.
7. And guess what - that's it. You are done.

Boiling Method

1. In a large pot, add 1 cup rinsed basmati rice and fill the pot with water - say 4 or 5 cups of clean water.
2. Place the pot over high flame and bring it to a boil.
3. Once it starts bubbling add the salt.
4. Let it cook for about 10 minutes and from this point on you need to check every couple of minutes if the rice is cooked.
5. To check if the rice is done - With a spoon take out a few grains of rice and just squeeze the grains between your fingers. It should be soft and get mashed easily.
6. Once you have reached that stage - the rice is cooked.
7. Put the flame off and immediately drain the remaining water out using a strainer or colander.
8. And that's it.

To make the "Twist" version you just need to add the cardamoms, bay leaf, cloves, garlic powder and ginger powder in step 1 of either method.


Key Points

• Absorption method works with 1:2 ratio for basmati rice (1 cup rice to 2 cups water) whereas the boiling method makes use of a lot more water as compared to the amount of rice.
• In absorption method in step 4 I mentioned within brackets that a little moisture is ok to have - that's because it will ensure that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and get burnt. This moisture will disappear when we keep it aside for 5 minutes with the lid on in the next step.
• In absorption method we need to be careful not to burn the rice while waiting for all the water to disappear whereas in the boiling method we have to be careful we don't over cook the rice. Over cooking the rice means we end up with mushy rice. So drain out the excess water immediately once the rice has completely cooked.
• 1 cup of rice is roughly about 200 - 230 grams and will serve up to 2 people.
• Different types of rice have different cook times. Basmati rice is usually done within 15 minutes.
• Use a fork instead of a spoon to separate the grains of rice once its cooked. This ensures that the grains don't break or get mashed.
• Cooked basmati rice can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 days in a closed container. After that, the rice becomes hard and crunchy and it's just inedible.