Here's some pictures from when I did this the other day.
(http://www.atownley.org/images/cooking/pilau_rice/water_added_2008-01-03_AST.jpg)
After Adding Water to the Pan
(http://www.atownley.org/images/cooking/pilau_rice/finished_in_pan-2008-01-03_AST.jpg)
Finished Rice before Fluffing (in Pan)
(http://www.atownley.org/images/cooking/curry_exp1/served_vindaloo_2008-01-03_AST.jpg)
Finished Rice with Chicken Vindaloo
I also got to thinking a little more about this recipe yesterday, and I think the next time I try it, I'm going to add about 1-2 tsp of turmeric to the water as well. It should give it a nice yellow color that you see in many restaurants, but without the use of food coloring. I don't know that it'll add all that much taste, but I'll let you know.
In case you're wondering, I always use a heavy duty 2 qt (US) Calphalon anodized, non-stick pan and accompanying glass lid for the rice. It can be much trickier in thinner pans, and may result in some sticking to the bottom. I've had to do this when cooking at other people's houses from time to time, but as long as the pot has a reasonably thick bottom (or a multi-layered one like some of the stainless steel brands like All Clad/Revere Ware/Faberware), it should work just fine.
Another thing: if you end up with rice that's too sticky for your taste, just use a tad more oil when you're sauteeing the onions at the beginning.
I did this today and tried my turmeric idea. I was going to edit the original post, but I don't seem to have that option. Can one of the moderators do it, please?
Add 1 tsp turmeric after sauteeing the onions and before you add the rice. Continue as per the recipe. If you do, your rice should turn out like this:
(http://atownley.org/images/cooking/pilau_rice/colored_after_first_10_min-2008-01-06_AST.jpg)
Rice after boiling and first 10 minutes of cooking
Now, I thought I'd go "whole hog", as they say, and do the red/green food coloring thing to prove that it can look like restaurant rice. Unfortunately, I've clearly never done it using this pan/amount of rice before, so I added too much.
(http://atownley.org/images/cooking/pilau_rice/red_green_added-2008-01-06_AST.jpg)
After adding previously recommended amount of coloring prior to final 10 min "resting"
The finished rice obviously turned out with too much color, and where the red and green mixed, it ended up almost black (appetizing, isn't it?). I won't make that mistake again...
(http://atownley.org/images/cooking/pilau_rice/colored_fluffed_2008-01-06_AST.jpg)
Fluffed rice with too much food coloring
If you're going to do the food coloring thing with this recipe, I believe the following amounts should work and give you perfect, restaurant-looking rice:
- 1/4 tsp red diluted in 1 tsp of water
- 1/4 tsp green diluted in 1 tsp of water
Obviously, you don't want to cross the colors, leading to nearly blackend badness. Most of you probably know this already, but I wasn't as careful as I should've been, and Bobby said we should start posting our mistakes too.
I'm also not sure if I added a tad too much oil in the beginning or if it was a result of adding 2 tsp of extra liquid, but the rice ended up too wet. Of course, maybe it was the loss of all the extra steam/warmth when I was taking the picture too... Hard to say exactly.
I'm going to experiment with the colors again next time at both the same place and earlier in the process to see which give better results. I'll post what I find out when I get a chance.