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Learn how to cook Basmati Rice is a few easy steps. Basmati Rice is one of the different types of rice available in the market. It can be cooked on the stovetop, in the instant pot pressure cooker, in the oven and in the microwave. Which ever way you choose, learning how to cook it perfectly will be very helpful to you as you explore various Rice recipes.
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Basmati Rice Recipe
Basmati rice is one of the different types of rice I love to cook with and is a popular feature in Indian cuisine. Basmati rice is a long grain rice.
It has a more slender shape when compared with the standard parboiled long grain rice. If you haven’t cooked with basmati rice before, with this easy recipe, you will learn how to do so with step by step pictures.
What is Basmati Rice and what does it taste like?
Basmati Rice is a variety of long grain rice that is fragrant and is mostly featured in Indian, Pakistani and middle eastern cuisine.
Basmati rice grains are long and thin and can be either white or brown. The name basmati is said to mean fragrant in India.
Read more on Basmati Rice here
How is basmati rice served?
Basmati rice is served as a side dish with stews and curries
What is the difference between Basmati rice and regular long rice?
The difference in these two types of long grain rice is in the taste / smell and the shape of the grains.
Basmati rice is a fragranced rice while regular rice is not fragranced. Basmati rice has a longer, more slender grain than the regular long grain rice.
What is parboiled Rice? What does it mean.
I use parboiled rice or parboiled basmati rice in most of my rice recipes. Parboiled rice also known as converted rice is rice that has been partially precooked in its husks before processing the rice for consumption.
Parboiling happens before Milled abs usually involves 3 main steps which are soaking, steaming and drying.
Parboiling changes the color of rice to a light yellow or amber color. This differentiates it from rice that hasn’t been parboiled ( like regular rice which is more white)
You can find out more about parboiled rice in this interesting article.
Basmati Rice brands.
- Noor’s Basmati rice
- Bombay basmati rice
- Tilda Basmati Rice
How to rinse/wash rice before cooking
- To rinse or wash rice before cooking, measure raw rice into a bowl at least twice the size of the dry rice.
- Put bowl in a sink under running water and rinse continuously. While you sieve out the excess water on top by using a colander or bending the bowl slightly to the side while keeping your hands at the edge to catch the rice.
- Repeat process till water runs clear.
How to rinse rice without a colander / strainer
You definitely don’t need a colander or sieve to rinse rice. You can scoop it out with your cupped hand into a second bowl. When the rice left in the bowl is too small, decant water on top and scoop out the rest of the rice.
This may not be as effective as a colander but works perfectly.
Related:
How to store cooked rice. How long can it last in the fridge?
Cooked Rice can last up 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
To warm up / reheat cold rice, sprinkle about a teaspoon of water per cup of rice and microwave on high power for a minute or a minute and half depending on quantity of rice being reheated. The little sprinkle of water helps build up steam which warms up the rice evenly.
Other ways to cook basmati rice.
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How to cook basmati rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups of basmati rice
- 3 cups of water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp butter optional
Instructions
- Wash rice till it runs clear.
- Transfer to a pot add water and butter and salt
- Turn on heat cook till all water is absorbed. About 25 mins.
- Turn off heat cover pot for 5 mins
- Fluff with a fork.
- Serve warm
Notes
- You can swap out the butter with coconut oil or canola oil.
- I like my rice aldente. If you are like not mom and you love softer rice. Add an extra 1/2 cup to this recipe. But I would suggest you try it out as is first.
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