Well, more of a new method rather than a new recipe – contributed by Peter, who sent me this via the Contact Form.
I tried this tonight and it really does work. It’s much quicker than the one I’ve been using, and it definitely produces the fluffiest rice I have ever made – none of the grains are stuck together.
You’ll need a colander that can withstand being held over boiling water, so a metal one is pretty much essential ( Morrisons is selling stainless steel ones for £2 each at the moment). If you use a plastic one, be careful!
Step 1: Keep the kettle boiling – you need quite a bit of hot water.
Step 2: In a large saucepan or stockpot, place a little oil and carefully fry 3-4 green cardamoms, 2-3 cloves, a medium-sized piece of Cassia Bark, a Bay Leaf, and about a teaspoon of garlic/ginger puree for about 30 seconds to release the flavours. The add about 1 teaspoon to half a tablespoon of salt.
Step 3: Add one large cup or mug full of Basmati rice, and stir until the grains are coated. Then add TWO cup or mug fulls (depending on what you used) of boiling water. Stir once or twice, then leave to simmer on a low heat for exactly 3 minutes.
Step 4: Pour the entire contents into the colander in the sink. Use boiling water to flush out the saucepan or stockpot. When this is clean, fill to about 4-5cm with boiling water and set on the cooker again.
Step 5: Let the rice drain in the sink. When no more cloudy water ruins out, rinse it thouroughly with more boiling water.
Step 6: Set the colander over the boiling water in the pan or stockpot and cover. Allow to steam gently until the rice is ready – mine took about 5-7 minutes. It overcooks easily, so keep an eye on it.
Step 2 is my addition – I like the rice to be flavoured, hence this sort of tarka I use. You’ll also need to experiment with the amount of salt (hence the range I gave), because since the rice does not absorb all the water you find less of the salt stays in the grains.