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British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Starters & Side Dishes => Starters & Side Dishes => Rice (Plain, Pilau, Special, etc) => Topic started by: ifindforu on February 02, 2012, 06:56 PM

Title: Which rice to use
Post by: ifindforu on February 02, 2012, 06:56 PM

There are plenty makes of rice out there,but funny thing is some are better than others the one we use at the T/A
is badshaw aged Pakistani basmati rice check it out here ]http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=badshaw+rice&x=0&y=0] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=badshaw+rice&x=0&y=0)[/url]easy to cook and good separation nice tasting rice/All the best

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: Unclefrank on February 02, 2012, 07:59 PM

I use this http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/asda-compare-prices/rice_pulses_and_grain/shahi_pakistani_basmati_rice_5kg.html (http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/asda-compare-prices/rice_pulses_and_grain/shahi_pakistani_basmati_rice_5kg.html)

Havent had any problems with it from doing plain rice, pilau, mushroom pilau and tomato rice.

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: Razor on February 02, 2012, 08:31 PM

If I'm being honest, I would say that most basmati rice is absolutely fine.  I would add though, the cheaper brands seem to need a little bit more attention than say, Tilda. 

For this reason, I very rarely use the absorption method, preferring to boil in plenty of water and keep testing, testing, testing...!

Ray :)

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: ifindforu on February 02, 2012, 09:11 PM

Quote from: Unclefrank on February 02, 2012, 07:59 PM

I use this http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/asda-compare-prices/rice_pulses_and_grain/shahi_pakistani_basmati_rice_5kg.html (http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/asda-compare-prices/rice_pulses_and_grain/shahi_pakistani_basmati_rice_5kg.html)

Havent had any problems with it from doing plain rice, pilau, mushroom pilau and tomato rice.

i suppose we all got our favorites

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: chewytikka on February 03, 2012, 01:25 AM

I use Zoy, (Trade) its the best Basmati rice I've come across to date.

There's so much choice these day's, but back in the 70's, you would have
been eating American Long Grain with your curries, I remember Tolly Boy
being a common brand in restaurants.

cheers Chewy
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/bac567601e90a309c01b77ef98c30e91.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#bac567601e90a309c01b77ef98c30e91.jpg)

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: Unclefrank on February 03, 2012, 10:22 AM

Hi ifindforu its not my favourite, i dont have one really, but its quite good value for money i paid 3.98 for my bag special roll back thing that ASDA have.

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: JerryM on February 04, 2012, 11:43 AM

i use a lot of rice using boil method (for pilau) but far more often the absorption method for general meals.

i've tried quite a lot of basmati brands and variances in the absorption method.

my conclusion is the rice as long as it's basmati does not make a huge difference. the cooking does.

i now religiously follow CA's recommendation to rinse the rice at least 3 times using relatively small amounts of water. i've also realised that the amount of pre cooking absorption of water affects the cooking time. 976bar's observation on the absorption method holds good too - high heat to get the rice really boiling then v.low heat for a short time. i still stick to 20% less water (ie 1.6x water c/w norm of x2) by weight and have got the low ht cooking time down to 8 mins. i've settled on using salaam down to price and availability.

will look out for the badshaw

old link for info http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3487.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3487.0)

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: JerryM on April 14, 2012, 10:26 AM

finally managed to get a bag of the badshah. the packaging on the bag sounds very promising.

the grain size is same as my norm salaam (same price) but the grains seem more consistent as if it's not a blend - looks promising

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/a9f511551a685a91f3974152ce105396.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#a9f511551a685a91f3974152ce105396.jpg)

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: JerryM on May 28, 2012, 07:00 PM

i'm well into using this bag. i use it for general cooking as well as for curry. i'm well pleased and it's my no1 choice and what i will aim to use going forward (got it from my fav store so should be no problem on availability).

for indication by comparison i like it better than the zebra brand.

for the price it represents top notch quality. the whiteness is particularly good and something you don't normally find in this price range. the grains are also very consistent suggesting it's not a mix (good and poor) like a lot of brands. the basmati aroma is good enough too (difficult to get with large grain size unless deep pockets or low consumption).

one to keep an eye out for.

Title: Re: Which rice to use
Post by: colin grigson on May 29, 2012, 06:49 AM

I don't ever buy 'cheap' basmati , I only buy Tilda ... the way I look at it is like lots in life you get what you pay for. I get 200 portions of pilau out of a 10kg bag at GBP 21 ( From Spices of India - not the cheapest place I know ! )which equates to around 10.5p per serving ... cheaper rice comes out at around 6p - 7p a serving. Having gone to all the work of making up a base , made a delicious curry and prepared chapatis and so on I simply could not risk the rice being anything other than the best possible especially for a saving maximum 9p for 2 people. I'm sure there are loads of other great rices out there ... I'm just sold on the Tilda stuff and the peace of mind it offers me.   ;) :)

I use CA's method for pilau and freeze loads .. every one that's tried says it spot on so rice wise I'm happy for now !!      ;D