Indian restaurant rice

mikep

Hi

Does anyone know how indian restaurants get their rice so perfect??
I'm fed up of sticky starchy rice...

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Have you tried changing to Basmati Rice?

I think it is delicious, and since I've changed to it from normal rice, I haven't messed up with the cooking once (about a month).

It just never seems to clump together, and I find it a good bit tastier.

mikep

I always use basmati...

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Then, imo, you are cooking it wrong.

Boil the water with pinch of salt and some oil.

when the water is boiling, add the rice.

bring to the boil again, and then start checking the rice, as soon as it is cooked, strain it.

This hasn't failed for me once with basmati.

Dizzyblonde

If you use the absorption method it can't go wrong - use exactly 2 parts boiling water to 1 part rice. When you tilt the pot and there's no liquid, it's cooked.
And there's no need to strain it so you save on the washing up.

Minder

Agreed Des F. I have abandoned the measured rice and water method years ago. No more 1 cup of rice to 2 or water, or whatever it was.

Now I cook all rice in plenty of water. Drain well and leave covered to dry for a few minutes before serving.

olaola

I use this method - perfect every time

Wash rice - leave about 1" of water above level of rice.
Bring to the boil and boil with the lid off until visable water disappears and you see 'holes' in the rice. Then turn the heat to the lowest setting, put a square of kitchen paper on top of the pot and pop the lid on.
Leave for 10 mins.

Purrfect rice!

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Oh yeah, I never measure the water, just boil a lot of it, so the rice is very well covered, even after it has been boiling until cooked.

Heh, saving on washing up? I use the lid of the pot to strain anyway.

Faith

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

If you use the absorption method it can't go wrong - use exactly 2 parts boiling water to 1 part rice. When you tilt the pot and there's no liquid, it's cooked.
And there's no need to strain it so you save on the washing up.

I do this too. I literally use a half cup of rice and one cup of water per person. Also, wash the rice beforehand. It's the secret to stopping it getting sticky and starchy. It's amazing how cloudy the water is when you wash it. (Obviously, wash until water runs clear!)

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How do you wash rise?

Grain by Grain?

smashey

I bought a rice cooker in Lidl. Perfect rice every time.

olaola

DesF wrote: »

How do you wash rise?

Grain by Grain?

I use one of those scourer-backed sponges, you know - the yellow and green ones...

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olaola wrote: »

I use one of those scourer-backed sponges, you know - the yellow and green ones...

Am I being whooshed?

I hope I am, because I cannot imagine scouring my rice, i really can't.

grumpytrousers

i pour the cup or whatever of rice that i'm gonna gook into a sieve. Run it under the tap for a few minutes and shake it up a bit. What Faith there says is dead right...the amount of starch'n'stuff that washes out is amazing!

Faith

grumpytrousers wrote: »

i pour the cup or whatever of rice that i'm gonna gook into a sieve. Run it under the tap for a few minutes and shake it up a bit. What Faith there says is dead right...the amount of starch'n'stuff that washes out is amazing!

Exactly. Get your hands in there and mix it around too, to get all of it.

If you cook rice a lot, a rice cooker is a great investment.

olaola

Faith wrote: »

Exactly. Get your hands in there and mix it around too, to get all of it.

If you cook rice a lot, a rice cooker is a great investment.

I run the tap into the pot with the rice. Stick my paw in, give it a good mix - then pour the water off. Repeat until clear.

rockbeer

Try dry-cooking the rice first. Put the rice in a heavy pan over a low heat and stir frequently until it just starts to toast. Then add boiling water (2 to 1) and cook by the absorption method. Adds a fantastic nutty flavour and sears the outsides of the grains so they don't stick together.

Mr Magnolia

Another quick method is too cook the rice as normal, transfer to colander and pour a kettle of boiling water through it.

Alun

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Another quick method is too cook the rice as normal, transfer to colander and pour a kettle of boiling water through it.

Which is what I do for plain boiled rice, and leave it in the sieve for a few minutes to dry out a little and then fluff it up with a fork. I've never quite seen the attraction of the absorption method for plain boiled rice to be honest.

But, If I'm cooking a pilaf of some sort then I do use the absorption method, but I do it in the microwave. I do all the frying of spices and coating of the rice in a pan as normal, add the stock or water and then transfer immediately to a glass dish and cook in the microwave from then on. Usually 3 or 4 minutes on full power (700w on mine), remove and stir, and then 10-15 on a lower power (450w on mine). It avoids the usual (for me anyway) sticking I always get when doing it in a pan on the heat.