Basmati Pilaf With Caramelized Onions And Broccoli Recipes

BASMATI RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Heat chicken stock in a saucepan until boiling; keep hot until ready to use.
• Heat vegetable oil in a 2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and bay leaf in the hot oil until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir basmati rice into onion mixture until rice is coated with oil.
• Pour hot chicken stock into the rice mixture. Season with salt; stir.
• Bring rice mixture to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue simmering until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat and discard bay leaf. Add butter and fluff the rice with a fork.

BASMATI RICE PILAF

Steps:

• To wash or not to wash rice? In the case of basmati, no matter what my preparation is, I always wash it. It cleans out any small particles and it also rids the rice of any starch on the grain. This starch makes the rice gummier when cooked.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, add the rice and 4 cups of cold water. Soak the rice for 1/2 hour.
• In a small bowl, add the cumin seeds, cardamom, fennel seeds, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Turn the mixture out onto a baking sheet and put it in the center of the oven to lightly toast the spices and awaken the flavors, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the spices to cool.
• Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the butter and the onion. Season with salt and cook until the onions are translucent but not brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the spices. Drain the rice but reserve the soaking water. Stir in the rice and cook until you hear the rice crackling, about 2 minutes. Gently stir in the reserved soaking water. Season with a generous portion of salt and bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat.
• Cook the rice over medium-low heat, uncovered and undisturbed, for about 8 minutes. Take a fork (so as not to damage the rice) and flake a few grains off to taste for doneness. It may need to be cooked another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the rice to "rest" (as you would a roast beef) for 10 minutes before "forking" it gently into a serving bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of butter, if desired, and serve.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND LENTIL PILAF

Steps:

• In a large heavy-based saucepan, heat ghee over medium heat. Add onion slices, and sauté until softened and deep golden brown. Remove half the onions and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and add turmeric, cumin, coriander, cloves, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add salt, and season with black pepper to taste.
• Combine lentils and rice in a fine-meshed sieve, and rinse well with cold water. Drain, then add to pan. Add 4 cups water, raise heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to very low, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Water should be completely absorbed; if not, remove pan from heat, remove lid and cover pan with a kitchen towel, then replace lid and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
• To serve, fluff pilaf with a fork, and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with reserved onions.

BASMATI PILAF WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND BROCCOLI

Steps:

• 1. In a medium bowl, soak the rice in the water, about 30 minutes.2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil (or ghee) in a medium nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the cardamom pods, cinnamon, and cloves, stirring, about 30 seconds. Add the onions and cook, stirring, as needed, until golden, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook until they are dark brown. With a slotted spatula, remove half the onions, drain them on paper towels (to make them crisp), and reserve for garnish.3. To the pan, add the rice, the water it was soaking in, and the salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan (partially at first, until the foam subsides, then snugly), and cook until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Do not stir the rice while it is cooking. Remove from the heat and allow the rice to rest about 5 minutes.4. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds they should splitter upon contact with the hot oil, so lower the heat and cover the pan until the spluttering subsides. Quickly add the broccoli florets and stir about 2 minutes. Transfer the rice to a serving platter and lightly mix in the broccoli, with some of it visible as a garnish, top with the reserved onions, and serve.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.