A homage to rice

There are few greater sources of homely comfort for Indians than a steaming bowl of rice. It’s an affordable power pack of energy and the best cloud of grains for flowing curries, dal, and seed-studded sabzi to settle on. A classic “cultural food”, it is built into the fabric of our customs, rituals, festivals and history. And yet, it can be much misunderstood in the Western world.

So here is my homage to rice, with a few truths laid bare. It has a method for perfectly fluffy rice and a recipe for Khushka, a quick fix aromatic biryani, that will impress as a centrepiece and you’d be hard pressed to fluff.

There are many varieties of rice

All rice isn’t made equal. There are 1000s of varieties in India. Nutty, slimline Basmati is the most popular one overseas, and used in the North of India. I grew up with buttery Bengali Gobindobhog and have been known to bring sacks of bulbous Goan red rice back from holiday to soak coconut curries. Each region has a specialty that pairs fragrance, flavour and texture with local specialities.

It is designed to go with our food

While white rice is mostly associated with being stripped of nutrients, India’s famous nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar has done much to dispel myths and promote it. She says rice is a prebiotic and designed to be enjoyed with our traditonal meals: “When combined with pulses, dahi [yoghurt], Kadhi [tempered yoghurt and gram flour curry], legumes, ghee even meat it leads to steady blood sugar response.”

Rujuta advocates hand-pounded single-milled rice, which sits somewhere between white and brown rice. This is hard to come by near me so I veer between white and brown depending on mood and occasion. As with most things in life, moderation is everything. A fistful of white rice - or in my case two - is the perfect accompaniment to a traditional meal, while a large mound can come with its own dietary dilemmas.

Cooking perfect rice is art and science, but not rocket science

For simplicity, I’ll focus on my method white Basmati here. Always start with the very best quality if it’s fluffy long grains you’re after. Wash it in a pan with cold water and drain, until the water runs clear. Add two cups of freshly boiled hot water, bring to a rapid boil. The cover and cook on a high simmer for 12 - 15 minutes. The longer the grain, the longer the time it will take. There is to be absolutely no lid lifting and peeking during this time.

When the time is up, move covered to a cold hob for another five minutes for the steam to work its magic, then lift the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. My father, who was the masterchef at home when I was growing up, suggests using just under double the amount of water. The key is to pick a brand of rice and get comfortable with it.

Cheating is perfectly acceptable

My father’s first gift when I moved into my own London apartment was a rice cooker. His rule was to always buy the contraption from a culture that cooked great rice - so a Persian Parz Ghazar it was. I later bought one for my sister when she got married, my in laws just before they became outlaws, and it is now a time-honoured gifting tradition at mine.

When I no longer had space for a worktop rice cooker, I bought the Sistema microwave rice cooker. It has been a boon in a smaller kitchen, when I sometimes have all four hobs bubbling curries, and my recommendation has delighted many a sworn rice mush maker.

Rice is a side and a centrepiece

Steaming hot rice is the unassuming partner for many an Indian recipe. It is also enjoyed flavoured with tomato, lemon and more in South India. The technique here is quite different from that of North Indian pulao, where the rice is sealed in oil or ghee before it is cooked. In flavoured rice, the raw grains are either bubbled and simmered in a masala paste, or cooked rice is mixed into tempering.

Pulao is not to be confused with biryani, however. This is like comparing banana bread to a three-tier wedding cake. Biryani is layered, uses much more complex spicing and takes time and expertise to get right. I stick to pakki or cooked biryani where the rice and meat are prepared separately and assembled for a final steaming. In kacchi biryani, the rice and meat go in together raw and emerge victorious - no mean feat. (I will do a seperate post on biryani soon!)

There is also khichdi of course, the ultimate in one-pot rice and lentil cosiness. A tried and tested rescue remedy when comfort is needed, across India. This will probably be its own post soon too.

Rice is used in many guises

Rice also features in our desserts, like kheer (rice pudding) and as ground rice in the luxurious saffron, cardamom and rose Eid special dessert that is phirni. It is used ground to crisp batter on it own, and with gram flour to add extra bite. It is also excellent as a ferment. You can buy special idli rice to blend and tranform into dosa batter, although I just use cheaper basmati from the cornershop. The result is lightweight, easy to enjoy and just the reason to fall in love with rice all over again.

A few more tips from me for rice:

• I buy long grain Basmati for festivities and parties, and regular Basmati for everyday use

• The brands I buy don’t need soaking, but please do check yours

• The standard salt measure for pulao and biryani is 1 teaspoon for every cup of rice but you can adjust this to your preference

• For added visual appeal, you can bubble one cup of rice with a teaspoon of turmeric, a bay leaf, an inch of whole cinnamon and four green cardamoms

• To reheat, sprinkle a bit of water on top and cover first before popping in the microwave or oven to get that freshly-steamed effect

• Don’t handle rice when it’s just come off the hob as it will break

• You can freeze rice, but the texture is impacted

A recipe for Khushka, Biryani-style rice

This aromatic rice has all the lavish flourishes of biryani, without the meat or veg, and yet it is anything but plain. The marriage of whole spices with rose water, saffron, crispy onions and toasted cashews means it effortlessly dazzles on the table while trailing Eau de Nutmeg and Mace through your home. And yes, this is a good thing as far as I am concerned.

I believe this is a popular dish in the South of India, but I remember it mostly from elaborate weekend lunches cooked by my dad. Khushka was a much easier rice centrepiece than the four-hour meat biryani he was famous for. I am delighted to carry on the tradition and here is my recipe for you. Note: I always grind my own nutmeg and mace as it seems such an injustice to their potential not to.

Feeds 8:

• 2 tbsp whole milk

• Generous pinch saffron strands

• 5 tbsp ghee

• 2 star anise

• 2 black cardamoms

• 2 inches whole cinnamon

• 8 black peppercorns

• 2 large bay leaves

• 1 tsp black cumin seeds / Shah Jeera (optional)

• 1 large onion, sliced fine

• 1 inch ginger, finely grated

• 500gm of rice (2.75 cups)

• 1.3l freshly boiled hot water (5.5 cups)

• 2.5 teaspoons salt

• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly

• Handful of cashewnuts

• Half tsp ground nutmeg

• Half tsp ground mace

• 1 tsp rose essence

• 1 tsp screwpine essence / Kewra water (optional)

Warm the milk in a bowl and steep the saffron strands in it. In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, bring three tablespoons of the ghee to heat. Sizzle the star anise, cardamoms, cinnamon, peppercorns, bay leaves and black cumin seeds and then mix in the finely sliced onions.

Sauté the onions for 8-10 minutes until golden, then mix in the ginger and cook for another two minutes. Meanwhile, set the kettle to boil and wash the rice in a pan until the water runs clear.

Now tip the rice into the pan and turn until it turns translucent and is mixed well with the spices and ghee. Pour in hot water, mix in salt and bring to a rapid boil, then turn the heat down to a high simmer, cover and cook for 11 minutes.

Meanwhile, fire up a frying pan and caramelise the onions with the remaining ghee. When they are golden, remove onto a plate and toast the cashewnuts.

When the time is up on the rice, mix the essences into the saffron milk. Lift the lid and pour the milk all over, then sprinkle the nutmeg and mace. Seal the pan with foil, place the lid back on and cook on the lowest simmer for five minutes. Place the covered pan on a cold hob for five nminutes and then uncover and fluff the rice with a fork.

I would recommend tipping the rice into an oven-friendly serving dish straightaway. If you cook this in advance, reheating is a breeze in the oven at 200C (180C for fan-assisted ovens) with a sprinkling of water and loosely covered with foil.

Scattter the caramelised onions and cashewnuts on top of the khushka to serve.