Rice from Afghanistan

Name: Rice from Afghanistan
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 33 min
Yield: 4 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 cup long grain basmati rice; 2 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil); 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced; 1/2 inch cinnamon stick (1 cm); 1 bay leaf, rubbed (I use fresh bay leaves that I keep on hand in the freezer); 3 whole cloves; 1 pinch mace (small pinch); 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste; 1 tablespoon sugar

Submitted by COOKGIRl

"Found on ricegourmet.com. I don't know how authentic this recipe is to the rice served in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the directions were incomplete and ingredients were missing from the list. I made do with what I had to work with here."

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Ready In:: 33mins
Ingredients:: 9
Serves:: 4

ingredients

1 cup long grain basmati rice
2 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
¹⁄₂ inch cinnamon stick (1 cm)
1 bay leaf, rubbed (I use fresh bay leaves that I keep on hand in the freezer)
3 whole cloves
1 pinch mace (small pinch)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, to taste
1 tablespoon sugar

directions

Soak the rice for 15 minutes. Wash well and drain. (I try to remember to soak and drain the rice first thing in the morning.).
Heat the oil in a skillet or pot on medium and fry the onions until brown; about 5 minutes.
Add the cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves and mace, and sauté a few minutes or until the spices start to smell fragrant. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the sugar; let the sugar caramelize about few minutes.
Add the rice and sautè for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping up any rice that sticks to the bottom of the pan. Add salt to taste.
Stir in 2 cups boiling water; bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 18 minutes or until the rice is perfectly cooked and the water has completely absorbed.
Transfer rice to a serving platter.
Remove the whole cloves before serving or at least warn the diners.

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Reviews

I made this lovely rice to go with a creamy chicken dish yesterday evening and it was pure pleasure with each bite. The seasoning is spot on for my taste and I will surely be making this again. :D

Annacia
Delicious! Everyone loved it. There wasn't as much caramelization as I was expecting when I added the sugar. I served this with Annacia's recipe#500358. Can this be a NA/ME Tag the next time you're IT? ;)

Elmotoo
I used brown basmati rice, so cooked it about 40 minutes. Loved the nice spices in this. Made for Vegetarian swap-June 2013.

Sharon123