Basmati Rice

Rice is one of the most lovingly savored dish all over the world. For rice lovers like me, only the word rice is enough to make the mouth water! There are many types of rice. Though one might not get a chance to taste all the varieties of rice, but one variety of rice that all rice lovers should taste is the basmati rice!

Basmati is one of the long grain varieties of rice grown mainly in India. It has delicious fragrance which fills the entire house when you cook it. It has a unique flavor which is rarely found in other rice types. There are many varieties available in this rice, all of them are long grained. Another unique feature of this rice is that it does not sticky like most of the other long grained rice varieties. Talking about the nutrition, 1 cup of cooked rice contains 205 calories, 44.5 gm carbohydrates, 4.2 gm protein, 1.9 mg iron and 0.44 gm fat. The glycemic index of this rice is 58. Brown basmati contains about 3 gm of fiber whereas the white one has about 1 gm fiber. So, this rice is quite healthy to eat.

Easy Recipes to Cook Basmati Rice

Plain Basmati

Ingredients

• 1 lb basmati rice
• 1 pint water
• Salt

Process

Firstly wash the rice thoroughly in cool running water and then let it soak for about 15-20 minutes. Drain the rice and then place it in a medium saucepan. Add salt and water to the sauce pan, cover it with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Do not open the lid, let the rice continue cooking in the pan for about 5 minutes. The cooked rice shouldn't have water in it. Serve hot.

Basmati Curried Rice
Curried rice is part of daily dinner in India. This delicious basmati rice is ready in minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs ground cumin
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 cup water

Process

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add garlic to it, when the garlic becomes aromatic, add in curry powder, pepper, and chili powder. Stir immediately or the spices might burn. When the spices become fragrant, add in bouillon cube along with little water. Increase the heat, add the remaining water, bring to a boil and then add rice. Bring the mixture to a boil again, then cover it, lower the heat and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.

Biryani
Biryani is one of the most popular spicy Indian/Pakistani rice recipe, mainly made of read meat or chicken. If you are not a fan of spicy food, you can down the spices by half.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Basmati rice, pre-soaked (white or brown)
• ½ lb mutton, small pieces
• 8 black peppercorns
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp saffron strands
• 1 (½ inch) piece fresh green ginger
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cloves
• ⅓ cup plain yogurt
• ¾ cup clarified butter
• 1 (2 inch) cinnamon stick
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 tbs tomato paste
• 1 brown cardamom pod
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 2½ cups meat bouillon
• 1 tsp salt + additional salt

Process

Firstly grind onion, garlic, ginger, salt and yogurt into a thick paste. Prick the meat with a fork, apply yogurt paste on it and let marinade for at least 2 hours. Heat clarified butter in a large pan over medium heat, place the mutton pieces onto it and let cook for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, take another saucepan and fry the onion until golden brown in the remaining clarified butter. Remove off the fried onion, reserve it for garnishing. Add the whole spices to the remaining onion and fry for 2 minutes. Add in tomato puree and fried meat. Stir the rice and fry well for about 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the stock, also add salt, cayenne and half of the saffron. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, until the rice is thoroughly cooked and the moisture evaporated. Serve this yummy white or brown rice hot with garnished onions and saffron.

Cooking basmati rice is quite simple. The next time you get bugged eating the same dinner menu, try any of the above recipes, these recipes are sure to please your taste buds!