If you know me well enough, then you’ll know that I always have rice on hand in my house. We seem to eat alot of it over here! And it also happens to be a big part of my South Asian culture, but to keep it simple – I just like rice!
Rice can be a pain to make though, if you don’t get the rice to water ratio correct (2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice). Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of bad rice cooking in my history. Sometimes it’s been overcooked and soggy. Other times, it’s turned out too al dente or burned at the bottom. Getting a simple bowl of rice can turn out be a big hassle right?
For many years, I used to make rice by trying to get the proportions correct depending on how much I needed, but to be completely honest with you – I just got tired of measuring it out perfectly each time. And then my problem used to be that I got caught up trying to finish up another dish and forgot the rice, only to “smell” it burning later on.
So, I decided to cook my rice going forward with the “Pasta Method.” It means exactly what the name implies – cooking rice exactly the same way as pasta. There is no exact measurement of water when you make any type of pasta right? The whole point is to get the pasta cooked in a pot filled with water – no rocket science there!
And, well guess what has happened since I’ve been making my rice this way? My rice has been perfectly cooked every time! Basically, by doing it this way, I can monitor the tenderness/texture of the rice in a controlled manner and never have to worry about the water burning off too soon, or the rice getting cooked more at the bottom than the top.
So now you know how I make my rice! But, here is my recipe for how to elevate your rice by making it not only perfectly cooked, but flavorful and beautifully scented with some traditional, Indian spices.
PLAIN RICE with AROMATICS
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of rice (I use Basmati for my Indian dishes, but you can use any preferred)
- 10-12 cups of water OR just fill your pot almost to the top.
- 2 Bayleaf
- 5 whole cloves
- 5 cardamom pods
- 2 anise seeds
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1/2 Tbsp of Cumin seeds
Instructions:
- In a sachet bag, add all your dry spices into it and close securely.
- large pot, add your rice, water and place on medium heat.
- Drop in your sachet and just swirl around to get it completely wet in the pot.
- Allow the rice to cook for about 15-20 minutes, with a few checks for texture/tenderness.
- Make sure to mix up the rice so the aromatic water permeates througout the pot.
- After 20 minutes, OR until rice is cooked to the level of tenderness you prefer, turn off heat and pour your rice into a large colander to drain out any water AND remove the spice sachet.
- Spray the rice in the colander with cool water for a few minutes to remove any extra starch and also stop cooking process.
- Serve as desired.
What do you think? Simple enough?
Let me know your thoughts!
Enjoy! :O)
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