Easy Basmati Rice Pilaf Recipes

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.

SPICED BASMATI RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Prepare the rice: Soak the rice in 3 cups cold water for 30 minutes to remove the starch.
• Cook the rice: Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat and add butter, onions, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook until translucent but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes. To the pan add cardamom seeds, cayenne, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Stir, and toast until fragrant, 2 minutes. Then, add the rice plus soaking liquid to the pot. Add salt to taste. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Cover, turn off the heat, and let steam for another 10 minutes. Fluff the rice gently with a fork and serve.

SIMPLE BASMATI RICE

Steps:

• This is the most important part: Wash the rice! Place the rice in a large bowl and fill with fresh, room temperature water. Swirl your hand through the water and the rice; the water will go cloudy. That's all the starch that we're trying to remove in order to have individual grains of rice, not the sticky kind that's popular in Chinese and Japanese cuisine. (According to traditional Indian wisdom, this also makes the rice easier to digest because so much of the starch has been removed). Once you've swirled your hand around for a minute or so, pour off the water, taking care not to lose any rice. Repeat this washing process until the water runs clear. Usually, this takes 3 or 4 changes of water.
• Fill up the bowl 1 more time and let the rice soak for 30 minutes.
• At the end of 30 minutes, drain the rice. Fill a medium saucepan with 1 3/4 cups water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.
• Add the rice, stir, and wait until the water comes back to a full boil. When it does, turn the heat down as low as it can go, and then cover. Cook for 15 minutes.
• At the end of 15 minutes, cut the heat. Let the rice sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; you should see that every grain of rice has grown a little longer and is separate from its brothers and sisters. Well done!

LEMON BASMATI RICE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook the rice, ginger, and lemon zest together in the hot oil for about 1 minute; add the lemon juice and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil; cover the pot and allow the mixture to simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

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.