Basmati Rice - spicin' it up



Kamala Ganesh wrote:
>
> this is about how we make it at our house. The plain rice, cooked
> with just water and without soaking. For a pilaf/pilau, we
> wash and soak the basmati in water for 30 minutes, then drain


Why soak for one and not the other? I soak regardless how cooked and
obtain better results than not soaked. But if I had to choose but one
to soak it would be for plain rice (opposite of you) since pilaf
requires toasting the rice in fat. For pilaf I drain well after
soaking and then pour the rice onto a paper towel to blot and then fry
gently, just till the rice acquires a slight chalky hue, then add other
ingredients and proceed. For plain rice, since it's not toasted I'm
not careful to drain well. And I should hope you wash in either case.

Sheldon
 
Sheldon wrote:
>
> Why soak for one and not the other? [snip]


One possibility: when you fry the rice in oil for pilaf the grains are
coated and will absorb less water when it cooks, so you soak it first;
when you have plain rice it absorbs more water in cooking and so there
isn't as much need to soak it first. In either case, it depends on the
rice crop and the texture you like. With the current bag we have of
jasmine rice I found that soaking it first makes it softer than we
like, so I don't soak it. The bag of regular long grain rice, though,
clearly benefits from a pre-soak.

Madhur Jaffrey recommends in one of her books that rice for pilaf get a
three-step preliminary treatment: 30 minutes of soaking, then 30
minutes of draining in a sieve, then the preliminary cooking in ghee or
oil. Comes out tender with separate grains. -aem
 
My ex would, while the water was coming to a boil, put some ghee in a
small cast iron skillet, add some cumin and once whole cardi pod, some
very thinly sliced onions, and cook the whole mess until the onions were
good and brown. He'd add that to the cooking rice, and it would float at
the top, landing attractively on the surface when the rice was done.
Madhur Jaffrey has a nice version with chopped dill weed, which she said
mimincked an herb from her childhood, and the stuff is baked in the
oven. I can't remember where I stashed that recipe....I believe it was
from a cooking show where she was a guest of J. Childs.
HTH
blacksalt
 
On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 10:29:46 -0400, Dee Randall <[email protected]> wrote:
>> ____________________________________________

> Wayne, I like rice this way, too. I'm pretty sure the restaurants use large
> rice cookers to make their rice, not by pot on top of the stove. But I
> think to get this dry, clumpy rice, you could get it only by cooking in a
> rice cooker. Otherwise, you would really have to watch your stove burner to
> make sure it didn't dry out and burn. Also, this dry, clumpy rice comes
> about -- I think -- by it sitting around a while, not being served right
> away. Let us all know if, when you get your dry, clumpy rice -- just try a
> little less water, first. Also, I don't think restaurants use very much
> oil/butter, which inclines soy sauce just to run off instead of soak up.

[snip]

LOL, Chinese restaurants shouldn't be using ANY oil or butter if it's
plain steamed rice. ;D And they definitely use a rice cooker. I find that
drier, fluffier texture to be the norm when using a cooker, and it seems to
help to rinse the rice several times before cooking, too. When the rice
is done, I usually pop open the lid, fluff the rice a bit with the
plastic paddle, and snap the lid back down for a few more minutes, too. The
"warm" feature will usually continue to dry it out just a bit. The fluffing
technique is also helpful when cooking rice on the stovetop.

Ariane
 
Ariane Jenkins wrote:
> On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 10:29:46 -0400, Dee Randall <[email protected]>

wrote:
> >> ____________________________________________

> > Wayne, I like rice this way, too. I'm pretty sure the restaurants

use large
> > rice cookers to make their rice, not by pot on top of the stove.

But I
> > think to get this dry, clumpy rice, you could get it only by

cooking in a
> > rice cooker. Otherwise, you would really have to watch your stove

burner to
> > make sure it didn't dry out and burn. Also, this dry, clumpy rice

comes
> > about -- I think -- by it sitting around a while, not being served

right
> > away. Let us all know if, when you get your dry, clumpy rice --

just try a
> > little less water, first. Also, I don't think restaurants use very

much
> > oil/butter, which inclines soy sauce just to run off instead of

soak up.
> [snip]
>
> LOL, Chinese restaurants shouldn't be using ANY oil or butter if

it's
> plain steamed rice. ;D And they definitely use a rice cooker.


I don't know why you say "definitely". I've never seen any Chinese
restaurant in NYC that uses a rice cooker. I'm pretty observant when
it comes to kitchen stuff, and every kitchen I've observed the rice was
cooked in an ordinary aluminum pot, a huge pot, but ordinary
nevertheless... and not just Oriental, Hispanic restaurants as well,
and they eat a lot of rice too, although they tend to use cast aluminum
of a wide but shallow configuration.

Just because one is Chinese is no recomendation one can cook Chinese...
I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers, of
any ethnicity.

Sheldon.
 
On 10 Apr 2005 08:44:06 -0700, Sheldon <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I don't know why you say "definitely". I've never seen any Chinese
> restaurant in NYC that uses a rice cooker. I'm pretty observant when
> it comes to kitchen stuff, and every kitchen I've observed the rice was
> cooked in an ordinary aluminum pot, a huge pot, but ordinary
> nevertheless... and not just Oriental, Hispanic restaurants as well,
> and they eat a lot of rice too, although they tend to use cast aluminum
> of a wide but shallow configuration.


I would be very surprised if that were the case. It simply makes more
sense to use a rice cooker. It frees up space on the stovetop, it requires no
watching/timing, keeps warm well and rice cookers can have very large
capacities fitting for the amount of rice a Chinese restaurant would require.
And the results are excellent.

> Just because one is Chinese is no recomendation one can cook Chinese...


That's pretty rich, coming from you. As I've mentioned before, your
track record for advice on Chinese cuisine is hardly a recommendation for your
skills or knowledge, either. Maybe you should follow aem's advice about
not digging yourself any deeper.

> I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers, of
> any ethnicity.


You're free to think that if it makes you feel better, but I hope you
realize that most sensible people know you have no basis in reality for
thinking so.

Ariane
--
Incompetence: When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of
skill by doubling your efforts, there's no end to what you can't do.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/incompetence.html
 
Sheldon wrote:

>
> I don't know why you say "definitely". I've never seen any Chinese
> restaurant in NYC that uses a rice cooker. I'm pretty observant when
> it comes to kitchen stuff, and every kitchen I've observed the rice was
> cooked in an ordinary aluminum pot, a huge pot, but ordinary
> nevertheless... and not just Oriental, Hispanic restaurants as well,
> and they eat a lot of rice too, although they tend to use cast aluminum
> of a wide but shallow configuration.


I have seen a number of Chinese restaurants in NYC using ricecookers. We
had lunch in NYC Chinatown a few weeks ago and the restaurant had one
that looked like this:

http://www.centralrestaurant.com/Au...D=1545171&st=9150&st2=-47157168&st3=-31699471

or

http://shorterlink.com/?VD48MX

I have also seen this type in use a number of times:

http://www.yourdelight.com/panasonic_com_rice_cooker.htm


I have also seen those ricecookers in common use in restaurants in Asian
countries. They are just too practical not to use.

It is pretty much impossible not to find one similar to this in a
Japanese restaurant:

http://www.livingincomfort.com/zonycoricoan.html



>
> Just because one is Chinese is no recomendation one can cook Chinese...
> I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers, of
> any ethnicity.


Using a rice cooker simply indicates that the chef has chosen to use a
more convenient device for preparing rice and in no way indicates a lack
of competence. Some of the best Asian meals I have ever had were served
with rice that was prepared in a ricecooker.

>
> Sheldon.
>
 
Manzoorul Hassan wrote:
> We usually use Basmati to make Plain / Steamed rice or Polau (aka
> Pilaf). For Plain Rice no seasoning or spice (not even Salt). For

Polau
> the "siple" recipe that we follow is:
>
> * melt some butter or ghee
> * add some ginger (fresh is prefered, but powder can be

substituted)
> * add cardamon & cinnamon
> * add the washed & drained rice to the butter and ginger
> * constantly stir the rice to make sure every individual rice grain
> has a chance to be coated with the butter / ghee on mid to mid-hi

heat
> * after ~10 minutes, add liquid and salt
> * stir very gently once or twice, but no more
> * wait for a boil
> * immediately turn heat to med to med-low
> * cover for about 25 - 35 min
>
> The liquid would be approximately 1.5 times the amount of rice. So,

for
> 2 cups of rice there would be ~3 cups of liquid. The liquid is mostly
> water with very little whole milk. For 3 cups of liquid there would

be
> about a quarter of a cup of milk.
>
> We almost never ever soak the rice in water. In tends to break the
> rice. Many of our friends use the cooker, but we haven't tried it

yet.
>
> - manzoor


While I'm toasting the rice in fat I heat the liquid to the boil in a
saucer covered Pyrex measure, in the nuker... then it's all ready to
bring back to a boil in like under two minutes. By your method by the
time you bring the cold water to a boil with the rice in it you are in
effect indeed soaking your rice. I add veggies (onion, celery, garlic,
carrot, etc.) to my pilaf so I decrease liquid accordingly... practice
gives one a sense for how much. I don't add meat to pilaf, the meat
would become tough. You cook your rice about three times longer than I
do, it's no wonder soaked rice would break up, I think even unsoaked
the rice would turn to paste after cooking a half hour. I think you
work very hard to cook rice, and yours doesn't sound very inspiring
either, perhaps for you your procedure is more a ritualistic religious
experience than something culinarily practical.

Sheldon
 
aem wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
> >
> > Why soak for one and not the other? [snip]

>
> One possibility: when you fry the rice in oil for pilaf the grains

are
> coated and will absorb less water when it cooks, so you soak it

first;

I don't think so, oil will quickly float to the surface in hot water...
I think the oil is stricty to impart flavor during (toasting)

> when you have plain rice it absorbs more water in cooking and so

there
> isn't as much need to soak it first. In either case, it depends on

the
> rice crop and the texture you like. With the current bag we have of
> jasmine rice I found that soaking it first makes it softer than we
> like, so I don't soak it. The bag of regular long grain rice,

though,
> clearly benefits from a pre-soak.
>
> Madhur Jaffrey recommends in one of her books that rice for pilaf get

a
> three-step preliminary treatment: 30 minutes of soaking, then 30
> minutes of draining in a sieve, then the preliminary cooking in ghee

or
> oil. Comes out tender with separate grains. -aem


That's essentially how I described my method... and I never read
anything she has written, I suppose because I really don't much care
for the stench of Indian coozine. I cook my rice Puerto Rican style.

Sheldon
 
Sheldon wrote:

>
> That's essentially how I described my method... and I never read
> anything she has written, I suppose because I really don't much care
> for the stench of Indian coozine. I cook my rice Puerto Rican style.
>
> Sheldon
>


It is ironic that you chose basmati for cooking considering you don't
care for the stench of Indian cuisine; basmati rice is from the Indian
subcontinent and literally means "Queen of smells"... It does not go
well with all types of Indian dishes either...
 
"Ariane Jenkins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 10 Apr 2005 08:44:06 -0700, Sheldon <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> I don't know why you say "definitely". I've never seen any Chinese
>> restaurant in NYC that uses a rice cooker. I'm pretty observant when
>> it comes to kitchen stuff, and every kitchen I've observed the rice was
>> cooked in an ordinary aluminum pot, a huge pot, but ordinary
>> nevertheless... and not just Oriental, Hispanic restaurants as well,
>> and they eat a lot of rice too, although they tend to use cast aluminum
>> of a wide but shallow configuration.

>
> I would be very surprised if that were the case. It simply makes
> more
> sense to use a rice cooker. It frees up space on the stovetop, it
> requires no
> watching/timing, keeps warm well and rice cookers can have very large
> capacities fitting for the amount of rice a Chinese restaurant would
> require.
> And the results are excellent.
>
>> Just because one is Chinese is no recomendation one can cook Chinese...

>
> That's pretty rich, coming from you. As I've mentioned before, your
> track record for advice on Chinese cuisine is hardly a recommendation for
> your
> skills or knowledge, either. Maybe you should follow aem's advice about
> not digging yourself any deeper.
>
>> I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers, of
>> any ethnicity.

>
> You're free to think that if it makes you feel better, but I hope you
> realize that most sensible people know you have no basis in reality for
> thinking so.
>
> Ariane


but but but...Sheldon knows everything! Especially about the Chinese
community dontcha know...................:)) I mean you are Chinese.. but
heck.. what do you know??????? :))

Ophelia
Scotland
 
raj raj wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> >
> > That's essentially how I described my method... and I never read
> > anything she has written, I suppose because I really don't much

care
> > for the stench of Indian coozine. I cook my rice Puerto Rican

style.
> >
> > Sheldon
> >

>
> It is ironic that you chose basmati for cooking considering you don't


> care for the stench of Indian cuisine


I don't particularly choose it. I occasionally cook it. I have a good
friend on Lung Island who happens to own an Indian grocery there. When
I moved he prepared a huge gift package of some of his wares, like sego
pearls, various lentils, etc. He included a 36 Kilo gunny sack of
Basmati, enough for the rest of my life. I don't cook Indian style,
it's the spice blends I don't care for, mainly because when the meal is
over I don't want to still smell it for months later. Anyway, my
favorite way to prepare Basmati is Rice-A-Roni style, half rice, half
orzo... with various herbs, spices, and vegetables, but no Indian spice
blends. After cleaning the kitchen I don't want the entire
neighborhood to know what I had for dinner, and for two months
afterwards. For the same reason I don't cook fish at home either,
didn't need to on Lung Guyland. But now it's good I know how to cook,
because so far I've not found even one decent restaurant of any kind up
here in NY's capital district. Here in hillybilly country the best
seafood is at the Friday Fish Fry at the local firehouse, and that's
only previously frozen cod, but it's properly cooked, served hot, and
the batter they use is pretty good. It's served with fries and slaw.
The fries are good, they ruin the slaw with onions. It's all you can
eat for $10, supposedly a fund raiser, so I attended three times last
summer. They alternate with an all you can eat Pasta Party, went once,
awful, I'll save yoose the details.

Sheldon
 
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 10:56:06 GMT, Ophelia <[email protected]> wrote:
>> You're free to think that if it makes you feel better, but I hope you
>> realize that most sensible people know you have no basis in reality for
>> thinking so.
>>
>> Ariane

>
> but but but...Sheldon knows everything! Especially about the Chinese
> community dontcha know...................:)) I mean you are Chinese.. but
> heck.. what do you know??????? :))


LOL, of course, you are right, Ophelia. Who am I to argue with such
an expert? ;)

Tonight's dinner: Baked chicken thighs rubbed with olive oil, Penzey's Bangkok
Blend (great stuff) and lime juice, with steamed rice (made in a rice cooker!)
and broccoli. Not feeling particularly inspired, and this is fairly easy to do.

Ariane
--
Dysfunction: The only consistent feature of all your dissatisfying
relationships is you.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/dysfunction.html
 
Sheldon wrote:
>[snip]
> I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers, of
> any ethnicity.
>

A silly over-generalization. Restaurants and good home cooks use them,
too. I know you like good tools, so you should check out the Zojirushi
brand of cookers. Very sophisticated and versatile technology that
lets you select among many settings for different kinds of rices.

I'm using a pot now for rice because I'm back where I have a gas stove
and limited counter space. A couple of years ago I had to cope with an
electric stove but I had a lot of counter space. Under those
circumstances the rice cooker was clearly the better way to go.

It was a $20 barebones model that did fine. Didn't need all the
capabilities of the Zojirushi but admired its technology nonetheless.
-aem
 
"aem" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sheldon wrote:
>>[snip]
>> I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers, of
>> any ethnicity.
>>

> A silly over-generalization. Restaurants and good home cooks use them,
> too. I know you like good tools, so you should check out the Zojirushi
> brand of cookers. Very sophisticated and versatile technology that
> lets you select among many settings for different kinds of rices.
>
> I'm using a pot now for rice because I'm back where I have a gas stove
> and limited counter space. A couple of years ago I had to cope with an
> electric stove but I had a lot of counter space. Under those
> circumstances the rice cooker was clearly the better way to go.
>
> It was a $20 barebones model that did fine. Didn't need all the
> capabilities of the Zojirushi but admired its technology nonetheless.
> -aem
>


It is not really an over-generalization, is it just plain wrong, at least
when referring to oriental cooking.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the **** from my email address before using.
 
aem wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
> >[snip]
> > I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers,

of
> > any ethnicity.
> >

> A silly over-generalization. Restaurants and good home cooks use

them,
> too. I know you like good tools, so you should check out the

Zojirushi
> brand of cookers. Very sophisticated and versatile technology that
> lets you select among many settings for different kinds of rices.
>
> I'm using a pot now for rice because I'm back where I have a gas

stove
> and limited counter space. A couple of years ago I had to cope with

an
> electric stove but I had a lot of counter space. Under those
> circumstances the rice cooker was clearly the better way to go.
>
> It was a $20 barebones model that did fine. Didn't need all the
> capabilities of the Zojirushi but admired its technology nonetheless.
> -aem


I wouldn't use any rice cooker, even if given for free. I don't care
how techy, it's just another gadget. It's very, very rare I cook more
than 2 cups of rice but just as rare that I cook plain rice. Mostly I
make pilaf, and know exactly what/how to prepare each of many, many
varieties in an ordinary pot, and effortlessly. To *me* a rice cooker
has the same value as a crock pot, pressure pot, or food processor,
ZERO.

Sheldon
 
On 11 Apr 2005 12:22:16 -0700, "aem" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Sheldon wrote:
>>[snip]
>> I beleive those who don't cook very well are who use rice cookers, of
>> any ethnicity.
>>

>A silly over-generalization. Restaurants and good home cooks use them,
>too. I know you like good tools, so you should check out the Zojirushi
>brand of cookers. Very sophisticated and versatile technology that
>lets you select among many settings for different kinds of rices.
>
>I'm using a pot now for rice because I'm back where I have a gas stove
>and limited counter space. A couple of years ago I had to cope with an
>electric stove but I had a lot of counter space. Under those
>circumstances the rice cooker was clearly the better way to go.
>
>It was a $20 barebones model that did fine. Didn't need all the
>capabilities of the Zojirushi but admired its technology nonetheless.
>-aem


I'm a Realtor by trade and not to long ago one of my clients moved out
and left a bunch of 'stuff' I had to get rid of. One of the items was
a Zojirushi rice maker! OKie dokie, I said. I kept it and use it
often. :p

Ginny
 
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 20:00:26 -0700, Ginny Sher <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I'm a Realtor by trade and not to long ago one of my clients moved out
> and left a bunch of 'stuff' I had to get rid of. One of the items was
> a Zojirushi rice maker! OKie dokie, I said. I kept it and use it
> often. :p


Dang, that's quite a find! I've priced the Zojirushis out of
curiousity, and they're too much for our budget. :-/

We did recently replace our Hitachi with one bought from Costco.
It's Aroma brand, has a 20 cup (cooked rice) capacity with automatic warm
setting and a timer. So far, it's very nice! This is the largest rice cooker
we've ever owned--a bit of an overkill for two people, but it will be very
handy when we entertain. The timer comes in VERY handy, too.

Ariane
--
Dysfunction: The only consistent feature of all your dissatisfying
relationships is you.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/dysfunction.html