Spiced Basmati
"This dish is so flavorful that it could be a main dish! I personally love to serve it with tilapia or swordfish. It's delicious, and it's healthy!
Washing the rice will remove the starch coating that makes the rice stick together. In Indian cuisine, the rice is supposed to be individual grains, not stickly like Chinese or Japanese rice."
photo by Leslie
- Ready In:
- 1hr 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 cups basmati rice or 2 cups long grain rice
- 4 cups boiling water
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1⁄2 cup dried cranberries or 1/2 cup raisins
- 1⁄2 cup slivered almonds
directions
- First, wash the rice! Place the rice in a large bowl and fill with fresh, room temperature water. Swirl your hand through the water and the rice; the water will go cloudy. That's all the starch that we're trying to remove in order to have individual grains of rice. Once you've swirled your hand around for a minute or so, pour off the water, taking care not to lose any rice. Repeat this washing process until the water runs clear. Usually, this takes 3 or 4 changes of water.
- Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat.
- Add spices, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in rice until coated in oil.
- Add salt and boiling water. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- When water begins to boil, cover pan, and reduce heat to low. Cook about 45 minutes until rice is tender. You shouldn't need to stir the rice. It will soak up the water when it's done.
- When rice is nearly done, heat butter in skillet. Add raisins/craisins and nuts. Saute until golden brown.
- Mix with rice and serve.
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Reviews
-
Wow! This was a real stretch for my family and I honestly was not sure if they would like it or not. Cinnamon and raisins usually mean "dessert" to them. But we all totally loved this, it was delicious, and I am so glad we tried it. Thanks for posting! Made for ZWT 3 :) -
Okay I followed the recipe an I didn't. I sauted the onions as call for and kept the spice amounts the same except for the salt I used 1 tsp instead of half. Once I sauted the onions I added the spices and fried for 1 min as suggested and then added the rice( which I used less than called for) and fried for another min until well coated. Instead of water I used 3 cups chicken broth to 1 1/2 c Basmati rice. I poured it all into my rice cooker. Turned it on and voila! When I fluffing the rice before serving I added 1/2 pine nuts and skipped the fruit because my guys do not like fruit in their rice. It was very good and even my picky 6 yr old had seconds. DH had ordered more in the future. This recipe is now added to my book of staples TY! -
This is a very nice rice. I used Jasmine rice and only 3 cups of water. I also only cooked it 20 minutes once I put the lid on. I expected the spices to be stronger but it was very mild. I think it would be better made with chicken or vegetable broth in place of the water. I ate it with Chicken Curry and they went very well together. Thanks for the recipe! Made for Zaar Tag.
Tweaks
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Okay I followed the recipe an I didn't. I sauted the onions as call for and kept the spice amounts the same except for the salt I used 1 tsp instead of half. Once I sauted the onions I added the spices and fried for 1 min as suggested and then added the rice( which I used less than called for) and fried for another min until well coated. Instead of water I used 3 cups chicken broth to 1 1/2 c Basmati rice. I poured it all into my rice cooker. Turned it on and voila! When I fluffing the rice before serving I added 1/2 pine nuts and skipped the fruit because my guys do not like fruit in their rice. It was very good and even my picky 6 yr old had seconds. DH had ordered more in the future. This recipe is now added to my book of staples TY!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Stephanie Z.
Blacksburg, Virginia
