Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

Uncooked brown basmati rice.

This is a fragrant, long-grain variety of rice often used in Indian recipes. Basmati can be cooked in the same way as other rice, in the ratio of two cups water to one cup rice. The recipe below helps to bring out the flavour of basmati.

Ingredients

Serves four.

• 400g basmati rice (white)
• 600ml water
• 1-3 tsps of salt
• 1 tbsp butter (optional)
• 2 tsps lemon juice
• saffron (optional)

Procedure

1. If adding saffron, soak it in water for 10 minutes, and add the water and strands in at the lemon juice stage.
2. Rinse Rice in a sieve for 5-7 minutes under cold running water
3. Add the water, rice, butter and salt to a pan
4. Bring to a rapid boil
5. Add lemon juice
6. Cover tightly, reduce heat to minimum, simmer for 8½ minutes
7. Taste, is it soft yet tender, underdone? Cook for 1-5 minutes longer depending on how underdone it is.
8. Fluff with a fork.
9. Serve hot with your favorite recipe

Best with

• Indian Curries
• Chili con carne