Four ways of cooking plain rice ii/ii

Yield: 1 batch

Measure Ingredient
1 \N Info below

3. An Egyptian Way

The ingredients and quantities are the same as in the first recipe, but oil is sometimes used instead of butter or margarine.

Heat the butter or oil in a saucepan. Throw in the rice and fry it gently for a minute or so, until the grains are translucent and well coated with fat. Add the water and salt to taste. Bring to the boil and boil vigorously for 2 minutes, then simmer gently, tightly covered and undisturbed, for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and the characteristic little holes have appeared on the surface. Never stir while it is cooking. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. 4. A Persian Way and a particularly excellent one - Chilau or Steamed

Rice Use basmati rice. Wash it well in boiling water, and then leave to soak in a bowl of well-salted water for 5 hours or overnight. An hour before it is due to be served, drain well and rinse with cold water. Throw into a pan of boiling water with 2 tb.

salt. The salt helps the grains to remain separate but does not penetrate the grains and is lost with the water.

Boil the rice vigorously until it is slightly undercooked. The grains should, however, be cut easily with your teeth or a fingernail without presenting a hard inner core. The cooking time will be between 8 and 10 minutes. Strain the rice immediately and rinse with lukewarm water to remove excess salt. Drain thoroughly.

The rice must now be steamed with 4 to 6 tb. oil or melted butter.

Put half the oil or butter at the bottom of a thick pan with 1 or 2 tb. of water. Heat gently and add the rice, then pour over the rest of the melted butter or oil. Place a clean cloth over the pan. Put the lid on, folding the corners of the cloth over it to keep them away from the flame. The cloth will capture and absorb the steam as it rises from the rice, leaving it white, light, and fluffy, each grain separate from its neighbor. Leave over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

The rice at the bottom of the pan will be crisp and golden. It is generally scraped and served at the side of the rice dish. Its texture is considered a delicacy, to be offered first to guests. It is called "dig."

Some people like to put thin slices of fried bread or raw potato at the bottom of the pan when steaming the rice, and serve them in the same way as the crisp rice.

Roden wrote: "Although this preparation may sound rather complicated, it is not so. The result is so exquisite that it is well worth trying. You will then understand its importance in Persian life and the national pride in this dish.

"Chilau is served with various sauces or khoreshtha - aromatic and textual symphonies, the result of centuries of traditional harmonizing, creating and enjoying.

"Served without a sauce, for example as an accompaniment to shish kebab, it is eaten with a generous lump of butter and, traditionally, with a raw egg yolk served in an eggshell. The yolk is poured over each individual portion of rice and then stirred into it, making a glistening creamy sauce."

From "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" by Claudia Roden. New York: Random House, 1974. Pg. 340-41. ISBN 0-394-71948-4. Posted by Cathy Harned. Submitted By ROBERT MILES On 09-08-95

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