Curry Recipes Online
British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Starters & Side Dishes => Starters & Side Dishes => Rice (Plain, Pilau, Special, etc) => Topic started by: DARTHPHALL on September 28, 2005, 09:42 AM
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I`m? re-posting this recipe/method as Ive made some changes to it & to make it more clear.
Please try ..& enjoy? :).
? ? Use only BASMATI RICE.
? ?
? ? I do this part after rice is done.
? ? The Spices.( enough for 4 dishes).
? ? 4 Cardamom Pods, 4 Star Anise,2 level Teaspoon cumin seeds,
? ? 4 pieces Cassia Bark,4 Bay leaves,8 Cloves.
? ? I separate into 4 small portions? in a suitable container with a lid & add to each, 1 half Teaspoon oil & half tsp of water & Mictowave for just under 30?
? ? seconds.You add to your cooked rice dishes mix in then sprinkle over the top a little desiccated coconut.? ? ?
?
? ?The Rice.
? 1. Get 2 pans & put half of the Rice in each pan(the amount of rice to make approximately 4 Take-away sized portions) .
? ? ?NOTE : Put one Teaspoon Turmeric in only one of the pans with the Rice & follow method below for both portions.
? ?2. Boil a kettle,pour boiling water over rice, stir immediately,bring to boil on cooker turn down straight away.
? ?3. Keep heat to steady low simmer.
? ?4. Keep STIRRING & tasting (you are actually testing the rice to see how cooked it is).
? ?5. A soon as its still slightly crispy in the center(this part you need to learn from experience but what you are trying to do is get to?
? ?the point were by the time you have taken from the heat rinsed in cold water it will be cooked right through with the residual?
? ?heat in the rice)
? ?6. sort into portions & add the cooked Spices,mix them in & sprinkle the Coconut over the top, let cool then freeze( keeps for?
? ?weeks).
? ?The biggets thing i have learned (& i cook rice 4/5 a week) is you never boil rice as by the time you think its cooked it carries on cooking until you cool it down ,so you always miss that point.also i find Basmati rice cooks so well .i use it for my Chinese & experimental dishes.
? ? ? ? ?Please let me know how yours turned out. :)
? ? DARTHPHALL..... 8).....?
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sounds great. I tried your last version where you cool the rice and it works out really well. I reckon this must be similar to BIR as its so easy to microwave afterwards.
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I use The Microwave to heat all my curries & Rices as I'm sure most Take-away`s do,Try it Blade & let me know what you thought. :)
? DARTHPHALL..... 8).....
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I use the spices in the rice much like Darth does , however I cook the rice in the microwave...turns out perfect everytime ( much like a rice cooker only much faster & less mess )
CC
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Another way to test the doneness of the rice is to take a grain and pinch it between 2 fingers - it there is still a little hard core in the middle, then you are done.
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I do this part after rice is done.
The Spices.( enough for 4 dishes).
4 Cardamom Pods, 4 Star Anise,2 level Teaspoon cumin seeds,
4 pieces Cassia Bark,4 Bay leaves,8 Cloves.
I separate into 4 small portions in a suitable container with a lid & add to each, 1 half Teaspoon oil & half tsp of water & Mictowave for just under 30
seconds.You add to your cooked rice dishes mix in then sprinkle over the top a little desiccated coconut.
Darth
I look forward to trying this recipe. Thank you for posting it and for your R&D effort. Firstly, though, I've never heard of 'dabari' rice. Is it pilau rice + coconut? Are the spices you list the same ones for standard BIR pilau rice?
Also, when you say you "separate into 4 small portions" is that just the spices? No rice? Then you microwave the raw spices, oil and water alone for 30 seconds? No rice at this stage?
At the end of your recipe (6), you say: "sort into portions & add the cooked spices, mix them in & sprinkle the Coconut over the top, let cool then freeze".
But what then? How do you bring the frozen rice out of hibernation for reheating and serving, please?
Regards
George
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Morning George. :)
To answer your queries.
1.The spices are as my local BIR & as i posted. They do Pilau Rice as a totally separate Rice dish along side Dabari Rice & a few others which are really nice , i will try & copy them in the near future & post results ( i love Rice !!).
2.Dabari Rice & Pilau Rice are very similar.
3.Yes you are right i Microwave the Spices in 4 separate portions them add to the cooked Rice, i add the Dessicated Coconut
when i re-heat to eat.
4.I always let all my dishes defrost naturally, i find using the Microwave to Defrost tends to give an overcooked feel to Rice in particular & seems to degrade the curry ever so slightly.
Hope this answers your questions, feel free to ask any more & i look forward to hearing about your results.
?
? ?Your Curry Comrade DARTHPHALL..... 8).....
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Darth
Thank you for the extra info. I just searched for "Dabari Rice" at google co.uk for uk results. There was not a single result, so it must be a bit of a speciality!
You no doubt explained in previous postings how to use the microwave to re-heat the rice just before serving and after a slow defrost. Is a slow microwave setting the best for the re-heat, would you say, for as long as it takes the defrosted rice to warm through? And do you leave all the spices in situ?
Regards
George
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Hi George.
Yes i leave the Spices in whilst re-heating. I cook on full for 2 minutes ( 800 watt Microwave Oven)
stir up the Rice, check its heated to desired temperature.
When i have this dish i take out the whole Spices once i`ve put the Rice on the plate before?
pouring Curry over it, as i do not like eating whole Cardamom, Cassia Bark etc..etc..
Dabari Rice is i think made up by my localTake-away as i`ve not seen it anywhere else.
Hope this helps.
DARTHPHALL..... 8).....
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I tried to Google it too and there is very little information, however there is a reference to 'dabari yendi' which means ruined yendi, so it could mean ruined rice, perhaps the curry house is having a joke? ;D
However I also found a reference to it as being Hindu for a cylindrical copper or brass cooking vessel. So it would seem it just means rice cooked in a saucepan, which pretty much leaves it open to interpretation.
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I have to admit Y fingers, i`ve never found Dabari Rice on the net & yes i did a search just in case i found the recipe ( no such dam luck !!).
Give it a try if it comes out like mine you`ll find its a very quick simple & tasty Rice dish which goes well with any Curry related food. :)
? ? ?DARTHPHALL..... 8)....
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Darth
I've just had another great success, thanks to you, your friendly restaurant chef and the presence of this website.
I made your dabari rice last night and it's definitely 'in the frame' as I would put it, for a BIR pilau rice. I left out the coconut (the dabari touch?) for my first attempt at what I hoped would be like pilau rice. It was. My first attempt might not have been the best ever pilau rice, but I've definitely had BIR take-away rice which was worse. The flavouring is near-perfect. It leaves all my earlier attempts at pilau rice in the shade, like from Curry Secret and Pat Chapman.
Thanks again
Regards
George
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I`m very glad to be of service & also encouraged to see that others trying my recipes are achieving the level of success i am , together we will crack this nut wide open. ;)
All the best? ?DARTHPHALL..... 8).....
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did you use 4 whole star anise in the recipe of "dabari rice" ?
Yes I did, and it's the focus of much of my interest in the aftermath of this successful first attempt. I say that, because the flavour and aroma was so close to most BIRs, that I don't see how you could leave it out. So next time, I will leave it out to prove or disprove my conspiracy theory that any recipe which does not include star anise is simply not honest to the BIR style which we all know and love. If I'm right and star anise cannot be left out of any plausible pilau rice recipe, then what secret ingredients are left out of recipes for base sauce and (stage 2) chicken madras, etc.
Regards
George
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Hi George.
I have found Star Anise in my locals Vindalloo/Tindalloo on several occasions, hope this helps further.
? ? ? ?8) DARTHPHALL? 8)
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& i sincerely believe its an ingredient that is missing that stops my 99.9% clone being 100% right,hopefully soon now the season quietens i will get some tuition from my locals chef.
DARTH........ ;)
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Hi All,
I use this recipe myself and it is superb.
The recipe for this rice is almost the same as the Pilau Rice in the Balti Kitchen Video. Here is a modification I use from the Video which adds an extra boost to the rice and makes it a bit simpler to prepare.
Keep Darth's spice combo the same but to the rice add 1 oz of Butter or Ghee. Mix a little Red food colouring and a little Yellow food colouring in two seperate dishes with a couple of Tablespoons cold water.
Bring to a boil,turn heat to very low, cover and simmer for 10 mins. There is no need to test the rice. Don't lift the lid and don't stir the rice. Once it has had 10 mins leave for a further 5 mins. Drizzle the food colourings seperately in a cross shape. Gently fork the rice and serve.
The Butter adds that extra something and the spicing is superb.
Cheers Darth.
Regards
Ray
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Like the idea of adding Butter or Ghee.
I expect it adds a little flavor to the rice itself ?
DARTH.
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I have found Star Anise in my locals Vindalloo/Tindalloo on several occasions, hope this helps further.
Darth
It makes perfect sense. So why is star anise left out of so many recipes claiming to be authentic restaurant style pilau rice? e.g. no star anise in Kris Dhillon's 'Curry Secret'. I smell a rat!
Regards
George
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No probs mate, & yes i found it strange , but mentioned it ages ago but alas, no replies, if i find it in my Take-away Curry i`ll put it in mine its that simple( as long as its edible? ;D).
DARTH............
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But not that Rat you smell !!!!!! ;D
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Like the idea of adding Butter or Ghee.
I expect it adds a little flavor to the rice itself ?
DARTH.
Yes it does add a little flavour but it also gives it a slight stickiness ( not too sticky) which you sometimes find in restaurant rice.
Include the Butter/Ghee and the spices including Star Anise and I don't think you could make a better rice than this. At least we can get some things spot on!!
Ray
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Prior to selecting Darth's pilau rice for my first attempt, I considered several other recipes. The only other one including star anise was Pat Chapman's in one of his first books, but hidden away and not even called pilau rice!
Anything can be improved but, as far as I'm concerned, pilau rice can now be 'signed off' as perfectly adequate, e.g. if I was aiming to open an Indian take away.
Regards
George
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Darth....I haven't tried this recipe yet as im a bit confused.....
I've been reading this recipe over and over again, and wonder why the spices are added after the rice is cooked?
Wouldn't it be better to add the spices when starting to cook the rice so the flavour is put into the rice?
or is the a specific reason to do it this way?
Regards
John
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Yes Ive tried the other way !!! ;D
When you wash the Rice to cool it several times you rinse away all the taste so it becomes rather superfluous putting the Spices in at the begining.
Believe me & the others that have used my method. ;)
You have my word as a Dark lord, that i would not post a recipe unless Ive tried it several times, as there are a small percentage of individuals on this forum who disregard my work here purely because of our personality clashes,
So John go for it my good man, & soon you will be making Excellent "Curries & Rice from the darkside !"
Also i don't just sit waiting for other members to post their efforts i really do experiment a lot with all my dishes with a large margin of success .
And now for some silliness.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? " Badger..Badger...Mushroom,Mushroom ...Snaaaaake.... ;D ;D?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? DARTH "? ;D " PHALL
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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? " Badger..Badger...Mushroom,Mushroom ...Snaaaaake.... ;D ;D?
That's silliness? No way. That's what I ordered for my last Balti.
Kuldeep, double badger, double mushroom and double snake. Oh no, wait, hold the snake!
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Dam i`ve just been outsillied? :P (don't think its in the dictionary, but who cares ) ;D.
I wouldn't hold the Snake Yellow Fingers thats what gives it... " the tasssste "? ;D.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?yours... a sssssilly DARTHPHALL.
p.s. Yellow Fingers, have you tried the recipe ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?What you think of it ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Is it like your local BIR?
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i was gona save this for another thread but what the heck....
chicken spit, chicken spit, chicken spilt swallow.
umm now thats good!!!
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I agree John.
Have you tried the recipe my way yet ?
? ? ? ?
? Best of cluck DARHPHALL.. ;D
PS what goes ?? ?Peck..Peck BANG !!!!.......A Chicken in a minefield !!! ;D
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Don't forget Grimmos post from Brick Lane!
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=160.0
That's very good
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p.s. Yellow Fingers, have you tried the recipe ?
I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment because my house is just about ready to go on the market. It's taken about four weeks to get rid of the curry house smell and until I sell I'm not going to do any more curry cooking. It's agony I can tell you.
However I will try this recipe and it goes on my list of other things I want to try, top of which are your 99% and 100% curries and CK's 'guaranteed to have the smell and taste' vindaloo and some of Pete's demos.
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You are very wise, as i think on a documentary last week it was quoted that a funny smell in a house for sale is the third reason for not selling it. :(
DARTH............
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Hi Darth,
Ive scanned the thread but cant see how much rice you are adding, I guess around 12oz?
cheers
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Yes Ive tried the other way !!!
When you wash the Rice to cool it several times you rinse away all the taste so it becomes rather superfluous putting the Spices in at the begining.
Why would you want to cool it down?
If it's microwaved back, it actually improves it's fluffy texture
Or you could have it hot there and then
All the spiced water should be absorbed into the rice, that's why it's so nice
There should be no water left over
If there is, then you have used too much
Boiling the spices with the rice brings out their full flavour
Most restaurants also add a little garlic ginger puree to the water too
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I use my method as it works every time for me & the Rice is perfect,I've used the water absorbsion method & it ends up like the Take-away ...put it on the plate with the curry on top & as the rice sits & cools the water ends up coming back out the Rice (someone else mentioned this) i don't like this, i like my Rice just moist also it freezes better with lower water content as the high water content Rice once re-heated tends to have that over cooked look & breaks up because all the water in the Rice freezes & destroys the matrix of the Rice grain itself.? ;D
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Mark I've never measured my Rice i just put enough in the pan to make about 6 portions.
So i would say if you use 12 oz for your portions then that would be fine. :)
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I recently mentioned on the 'pictures' section of this forum that the genuine BIR take away rice which I photographed and ate, was not as good as Darth's Dabari rice.
I attribute the fine flavour of the Dabari rice to the spices which are used.
I think my local BIR cut corners on the spices and, instead of (most) spices, used a small amount of butter ghee to flavour the rice. I prefer the flavour of fine spices to the tang of butter ghee.
Increasingly, I'm changing my view from 'all BIR food is the same' to 'they're all a bit different' depending on which BIR you go to.
Darth's Dabari rice definitely tastes and looks like BIR pilau rice, but from one of the superior BIRs, not just any old BIR.
Regards
George
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Thanks George, i went to another Bir this weekend & had their Pilau Rice & yes my Dabari rice is similar but i found the Bir Pilau Rice very Greasy & definitely lacked that nice Spicy taste,even though the meal in general was good & i will go again as my local is shut for refurbishment? :( ( Re-opens middle of February? ;D).
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? ? ? ? ?Please let me know how yours turned out. :)
? ? DARTHPHALL..... 8).....?
Hi Darth,? big fan of this method mate, another batch underway now all prepped, points i'll add to the mix,? if anyone is stuck for measuring rice just use 3 handfulls per person (generous ones, you'll get the hang of it) i also split the ratio 75% plain 25 % yellow turmeric or colouring) Dont know about everyone else but i like the portion of yellow to white just right! 50/50 is too radical for me..... 25/75 now that is sexy...... lol.
seperate pans as darths method water just enough to cover up to boil then lowest heat if you can use a diffuser on top of stove then do that, keep an eye on it for a few mins, rinse and hold in cold until you are ready heat the spice oil as above add the rice and blast for a min or 2 until steaming, depending on how long the rice has been prepped before,
ohh i hold it in cold for about 20 mins then drain it together with yellow and heat in one batch with the oil mix as per darths method ,if people follow that.
hmmm wifes just come in and said it smells like a bloody curry house.......:)? so should be in for a good one all round? ?;)
cheers all, good curries....keep the faith, as if we need to..
fx.
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Thanks fx for your input matey? ;D.
It's good to see this method/recipe is still popular amongst forum members (aaahhh smug mode !! ;D).
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Its quite true - there is " method " in our madness . ;D
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This sounds so good!? Can't wait to try it.? As to the name, I"ll bet it's a mis-spelling of Darbari.? ?My research shows that darbari rice, was one of 5 kinds of? rice grown in Iran.? It was "hard, long-grained...grown solely on the Shah's extensive rice plantations in Gilan."? Other references called it "imperial court" rice, and "amber-scented."?
There's a Sikh temple called Darbar Saheb (http://www.darbarsaheb.com/), and that name means "a court or an audience chamber," so my guess is that Dabari (Darbari) rice now just means special rice, such as would be served in an imperial court.?
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Hi Merrybaker I've just checked the menu, it is DARBARI Rice not as i firstly posted DABARI Rice
Not sure about modifying the whole topic (I'm stoooopid lol).
So the reference is more relevent when spelt correctly.Sorry about that everyone,think i gave in too much of the Darkside :-[
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Can't have too much of the " darkside " mate - thats an integral part of this forum . ;D
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;D
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Not sure about modifying the whole topic (I'm stoooopid lol).
We love you anyway, Darth!? :-*
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Thanks, I've gone all warm inside now :-X
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Oh my!! - well I know a good urologist ;D ;D
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This is just silly now PEEEEE ps lol ;D