How to cook rice

The crowded kitchen
As the kids get older they are no longer satisfied staying on the other side of the kitchen counter. As a result, the kitchen is getting crowded and I couldn't be happier.
I will be using this space to list some basic recipes, family favourites, and ideas for quick meals for their reference.

The easiest and quickest meal, I think, is varan-bhaat. Especially if both the rice and the daal is cooked at the same time in the pressure cooker. The downside of this approach is that the rice is almost invariably overcooked because of the difference in the cooking times for the daal and the rice.
This is one reason why I prefer to cook rice in a pot. The other reason is that the excess water and starch can be drained off from the pot!
Though this post talks of white rice I hope to update it soon with information about brown and red rice. This post is very much a work in progress.

Rice
Ingredients
1 cup rice (Basmati, ambemohar, or sona masuri)
2 cups (or more) water

Method
Wash the rice in several changes of water.
If you have time, soak the rice for a couple of hours.

**Pressure cooker method (results in a stickier rice)
Add about 2 ½ cups water to the pressure cooker.
In a pan/ pot that fits inside the pressure cooker add the rice and water (1:2 proportion)
Put on the whistle and pressure cook for 1-2 (not more) whistles.
Allow the pressure to come down (7-8 minutes) before you open the pressure cooker.

**Pan method
In a pan add the rice and enough water to cover the rice and then some more.
Cook over medium-high heat for approx 8-10 minutes.
Drain the excess water, cover the pan with the lid and leave undisturbed for 4-5 minutes.
Fluff with a fork.

While such a rice is perfectly fine as an accompaniment to amti or daal sometimes what you need is just plain fluffy rice where each grain stands apart, phad-phadeet bhaat as we say in Marathi.
If cooked in a pan the rice grains do not stick to each other as much, but for me this is a hit-or-miss sort of thing. So when I need rice for a pulao-type dish such as this one here is what I do:

Wash the rice (preferably Basmati) in several changes of water.
Add enough water to cover the rice and set aside for several hours or at least one hour.
Drain the rice.
To a pot add the rice and three times as much boiling water.
Cook over high heat for exactly 10 minutes.
Drain the water.
Add about ⅛ cup water and ½ tsp butter for each cup of rice, give a gentle stir, cover with a kitchen towel and put the lid on.
Leave undisturbed for about 15 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and serve!

This results in phad-phadeet bhaat each time.

This is my entry for Jaya's Back to Basics event.

Great Grandmother's Recipe

Sprouted Methi Bhaat

Last month my mother's aunt had invited us for dinner. Amongst all the fabulous food that were served, the rice really stood out as it was unsual and unlike anything I've had so far. It was a spicy sprouted methi (fenugreek) pulao/bhaat. As soon as I started raving about it I noticed all the you-didn't-know-about-this looks directed towards me. Turns out that this rice dish was greatly favoured by my great grandmother and one that she made frequently. But I didn't know all this; thanks to a certain someone.
The only thing I could do that this point was direct how-could-you-not-tell looks glares at my mother.

Methi, the seeds and the greens, are an all time favourite with us. Sprouted methi seeds are slightly sweet and bitter all at the same time. A lot of folks(including mine) routinely eat a couple tablespoons of sprouted methi with their morning tea. Read more on the nutritional benefits of methi here.

Coming back to the methi bhaat: this simple bhaat is a perfect accompaniment for any meal but is also quite satisfying on it own with some raita/ salad. Initially it seems quite ordinary (it certainly looks that way), but that is only till you bite into a methi seed; sweet bitterness!

As the cumin-corriander powder is the only masala used, ideally it is freshly made as it makes a huge difference if it is. But if the powder is slightly old, roast it on a pan for about a minute to wake it up.

Ingredients
1 cup rice, wash and drain
½ cup sprouted methi seeds (Unf. I didn't measure how much of the dry methi seeds yield ½ cup sprouted methi seeds.)
1-2 (or more) chillies, finely chopped
½ medium sized or 1 small onion, finely chopped
6-7 stalks cilantro, chopped
1 tsp cumin-corriander powder
phodni kit (oil, mustard seeds, asafetida, turmeric)
6-7 cashews (optional)
salt, to taste

Method
Do the phodni (heat 1 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds, when they start dancing add the asefetida and turmeric).
Add the chillies and the onions. Cook still the onions start browning.
Add the methi seeds; cover and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add cashews, if using.
Add the rice, half of the cumin-corriander powder, and 1.5 cups warm water.
Mix well. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes.
After all the water is absorbed, add salt and the rest of the cumin-corriander powder.
Cover and cook for additional 5 minutes.
Before serving add the cilantro and mix gently.
Enjoy!

I'm sending this to Sharmi who is hosting the JFI-Rice food blog event. Jihva For Ingredients is the brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi.

Sakhar (sugar) Bhaat

It would be very unfair to describe sakhar bhaat as just sugar rice or sweet rice.
Though technically it is a sweet rice made using sugar, the addition of lavanga (cloves) and keshar (saffron) elevates the humble rice to heavenly heights. Sakhar bhaat is simple, uncomplicated, and delicious; Maharashtrian food at its best.

I used raw sugar instead of regular white sugar, which gave it a light brown colour and totally masked the colour imparted by the saffron. As this wasn't the familiar colour of sakhar bhaat, I added some more saffron. In the process, went a little overboard and ended up with something that looked more like keshari bhaat (saffron rice) than sakhar bhaat.

The original recipe is from Kamalabai Ogale's Ruchira, a definitive cookbook of Maharashtrian cuisine. Read more about Ruchira here.

Ingredients
1 cup Basmati rice, washed and drained
1 tbsp ghee
1 ¼ cup sugar and a little more than ½ cup water for the paak (sugar syrup)
4-5 lavanga (cloves)
¼ tsp cardamom powder
8-10 cashewnuts, halved
a good sized pinch of keshar (saffron) strands, soaked in a little milk or water
1 tsp lime juice (optional)

Method
Heat the ghee, when hot add the cloves and cook till the colour of cloves starts changes (don't let them burn).
Add the rice and sautee a bit.
Add two cups water and cook the rice.
When the rice is cooked, gently spread it in a plate and let cool.
Combine the sugar and water. Let the mixture cook till you get a thick syrup. You know the paak is done when a drop of paak put on a metal plate holds it shape and doesn't run. This is referred to as a golibunda paak.
Add the lemon juice (if using), saffron, cardamom powder, cashews, and the rice to the syrup.
Cover and cook till the water evaporates.
The rice tastes better the next day, after all the flavours have had a chance to mingle.

The Regional Cuisines of India (RCI) was started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine. After Tamilian and Andhra cuisine, it is now the turn of Maharashtrian food.
This another entry from me for RCI: Maharashtrian Food hosted by Nupur.