This is a rice which showcases the flavour combination of cumin and onion. The nutty flavour of the roasted cumin and the sweetness of the lightly browned onions together with the fragrant basmati rice is a match made in heaven and must be tried. The flavour is richer and more savoury than pilau.
It's nice hot or cold. Although I've not tried it yet, it would be a perfect match with wild basmati and brown basmati rice by further playing on the sweet and nutty notes. Great as a savoury rice dish for say a BBQ or tandoor meats . As far as curries go, it can go with anything, but you can try and combine it with lighter or sweeter curries or less heavy and spicy or tomato based curries, but the choice is yours.
~ ingredients ~
1 Pint Basmati Rice
Vegetable oil/Ghee (no more than 2 Tbls or the rice will be greasy)
1 Pint Boiling Water
1 Medium Onion Sliced
Half Cinnamon Stick or Casia Bark
5-6 Green Cardamom (pinch the pods to open the pods a little - more flavour)
2 Cloves
2-3 Tsp (heaped) Cumin Seed
Half Tsp salt (or to your tastes)
~
Method
Wash the rice in a bowl, twice... Don't just run it under the tap. Be gentle with it so you don't crack the grains or when it cooks it will be mushy. If you have a gentle touch you can lightly 'scrub' the rice between your hands to help get the starch off. I use a metal bowl which is the best I think. Drain.
Soak the rice for 25-30 minutes.
10 minutes or so before the rice has finished soaking, heat the oil up in preferably a good heavy bottomed pan which must have a lid. Add the spices and the onion. Fry on a low to medium heat until the onions have nice light brown colour to them.
Tip in the pre-soaked rice and using a wooden or silicon spatula (metal or wooden spoons etc will break the rice grains resulting in mushy rice) stir and coat the rice with the onions and cumin. Work from the side of the pan and lift the rice off the bottom of the pan. Again, it's imperative to treat the rice with as much respect as possible and not crack or break the grains.
Add the boiling water and salt, turn the heat up to get it to boiling point. Give one last stir to mix in salt and lift the sticking grains from the bottom.
As soon as it's boiling put tinfoil over the pan and press it in a little so there is room for the steam to expand. Put the lid on and turn the gas to the lowest setting. Make sure the lid is tight, it is important that little to no steam escapes
Start the timer for 12 minutes exactly.
If you have electric hobs, try using CurryHell's oven rice cooking method instead.
After 12 minutes turn the heat off.
You can leave the rice sitting there and it will stay warm for quite a while. Take the lid and foil off being careful not to get burnt by the steam. Use a fork to separate the grains and hunt out the whole spices. Don't use anything that will mash the rice up like a plastic/wooden spoon. I recommend a metal spoon for serving as there is no point in mashing the cooked rice up at this point either.