Indian Pilau Rice
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups Basmati Rice
15ml oil (I use Peanut oil)
1 small onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
1 tablespoon of Sesame seeds.
½ teaspoon ground Turmeric
1 teaspoon ground Cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
2 whole Cloves
4 Cardamom pods, lightly crushed
5 black peppercorns, left whole
500ml container of Chicken stock or consommé (or vegetable stock to make it truly vegetarian)
Fresh coriander to garnish
Wash rice well and leave to soak in water for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan, add onion and garlic and fry gently for 5-6 minutes until softened, not browned.
Stir in the fennel, sesame seeds, turmeric, cumin, salt, cloves, cardamom pods and peppercorns and fry for about a minute. Drain the rice well, add to pan and stir-fry for a further 3 minutes.
Pour over the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then cover, reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for 20 minutes without removing the lid, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and leave to stand 2-3 minutes. Fork up the rice, garnish with coriander and transfer to a warmed dish to serve.
This one is for Liz and anyone else who would like a nice side dish to a spicy chicken or fish (or whatever really :D) dish or just as a nice vegetarian supper on it’s own. Turn the heat off as soon as 20 minutes is reached and let it sit off the heat for a few minutes. The sesame seeds can sometimes stick if left too long cooking.
Bon appetit!
cathyandchucky 