The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Rice the Indian Way (2 page)

The love affair that Indians have with rice is legendary.
Rice has been a sacred grain, with some of the ancient Indian holy books like
the Vedas simply referring to it as
annam
, meaning food.

Every religious ceremony has to involve rice. Rice is stuck
on the red vermillion that is applied to your forehead as
akshat
,
literally meaning something which is indestructible.

Rice is poured into the fire lit during religious ceremonies
as
havis
or offering to gods.

Rice is sprinkled over guests, worshippers and the newlyweds
to bless them.

Only rice can form the base (
asanam
) for placing the
sacred pot (
kalasham
) upon it during religious ceremonies.

In certain parts of India, the bride and bridegroom are made
to even stand on a pile of rice during the marriage ceremony. In North India,
when a bride enters her husband’s house, she is made to first knock over with
her right foot a small metal jar full of rice to signify that with the spilled
rice, she is bringing prosperity to the house.

Rice is vital in the ceremony of
Annaprashana
, a
ritualised first feeding, which is conducted in the baby’s sixth or seventh
month of life. Mashed boiled rice or a sweet rice pudding called
kheer
is generally fed to the child accompanied with the chanting of sacred mantras.

When priests or elders bless you, they wish that your life
be full of
dhan
(wealth) and
dhanya
(rice). Do you notice the
similarity between the two words?

The biggest harvest festivals in India are linked to the
time when rice is harvested.
Bihu
in Assam,
Pongal
in Tamil Nadu,
Onam
in Kerala and
Makar Sakranti
in North India—are all
festivals where newly harvested rice is offered to the gods amidst lots of
dancing and revelry that stretches over 2-3 days. In
Pongal,
the day's
celebrations include an early morning ceremony of boiling rice with milk and
sugar in clay pots, which is allowed to boil over, signifying prosperity.

There are also smaller festivals linked to pre-sowing,
sowing, pre-transplanting, transplanting, invoking the rain gods, protecting,
and pre-harvesting.

Phew! Looks like the ancient Indians had no other obsession
bigger than the quality of the rice growing in their backyards!

 Dr Richharia, the well-known rice scientist states that
400,000 varieties of rice existed in India during the Vedic period. He
estimates that even today 200,000 varieties of rice exist in India, and has
gone on to catalogue 20,000 types of rice in one state (Chattisgarh) alone.

Perennial wild rice still grows in the wetlands of Assam and
in the border area with Nepal. Paddy grains found during excavation at
Hastinapur (near Delhi) around 1000-750 B.C. are considered to be the oldest
sample in the world.

There is hardly any type of soil in which rice cannot be
grown including alkaline and acidic soils. Rice crop has also got wide physical
adaptability. Therefore, it is grown from below sea-level (Kuttanad area of
Kerala) up to an elevation of 2000 metres (6000 feet approximately) in the
Himalayan regions of India from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.

Rice appears to have travelled to southern India after its
domestication in the northern plains. It then spread to all the fertile
alluvial plains watered by rivers. Some say that the word rice is derived from
the Tamil word
arisi
.

However, the world recognises India for its North Indian
Basmati rice which is an exceptionally aromatic, long-grain, slender, and
non-glutinous grain. Translated literally from Hindi, it means “queen of
scents.” Scientifically speaking, this aroma is due to the presence of a
chemical called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which is found in basmati rice at about
90 parts per billion. That's about 12 times more than in any other type of
rice, giving basmati its unique stature.

When cooked, Basmati rice swells only lengthwise, resulting
in long slender grains that are very dry, light and separate. —not sticky. In
India there is a saying that grains of rice should be like two brothers, close
but not stuck together.

Obviously, that is possible only with Basmati and not with
any of the
Japonica
or
Javanica
varieties.

Indians cook rice with anything and everything; with
lentils, veggies, meat, fish, chicken and seafood. In addition, they have plain
or spiced rice as a bed for curries and ground rice for making all kinds of
pancakes like
appams
and
dosas
.  Rice flour is also used for
crisping savouries called
pakoras
. Most temples serve as
prasadam
(blessings) the Indian rice pudding called
kheer
or
payasam
. And
then in many Himalayan states, from Ladakh to Sikkim, fermented rice is used
for making the potent brew called
chhang
.

With this short introduction, I present eight plain rice
recipes, five recipes for cooking rice with lentils, five each for cooking rice
with vegetables and meats, five ways to use rice in snacks and seven as
desserts.

There is no
Chhang
recipe, sadly because that is one
dish that is not made in my house!

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In this chapter, we will start with the basics.

First, how to make plain boiled rice that can serve as a bed
for curries.

Then we will convert this to four really delicious South
Indian dishes of Curd Rice, Lemon Rice, Tamarind Rice and Tomato Rice.

The North Indian variation is presented through the Onion
Rice recipe.

Thereafter we graduate to making the simple pulao or Cumin
Rice and then the more exotic Saffron Pulao.

Master these eight recipes and you would have captured the
essence of cooking rice the Indian way.

Ingredients

Rice-1 cup

Water-2 cups 

Tip: Use the same cup please! Otherwise, your rice will NOT
turn out to be fluffy.

Wash the rice well (
in a vessel 3-4 times, but don’t rub
it lest the grains break)
and let it naturally “dry”, on an inclined plate,
for 15-20 minutes. This helps enhance the aroma.

If you have a Rice Cooker, follow its instructions.
Otherwise, I present three popular methods below to turn out a perfect plate of
boiled rice.

Method using a pressure cooker

In a pressure cooker (3-5 litre capacity or 6-11 US pints
capacity) bring the water to a boil.

Add the rice to the boiling water.

Close the lid of the pressure cooker BUT remove the weight.

When steam starts escaping from the vent (don’t worry, you
will hear that typical sound), reduce the heat to minimum. In other words, if
cooking on gas, turn the knob to SIM (mer).

Wait for 10 minutes and switch off the gas. Take out the
rice. Your hot fluffy rice is ready.

Method using a thick bottomed vessel/deep pan

In a vessel or a pan, bring the water to a boil.

Add the rice to the boiling water. Turn the heat to low and
cover the vessel/deep pan with a well-fitting lid. 

Cook for 15-20 minutes without stirring the rice. Switch off
the heat source. Lift the lid and check whether the rice is properly cooked.

Cooked rice is always soft. To check, you have to take out a
grain of rice and press it between your fingers (obviously use a spoon to take
out the grain to avoid scalding your hands).

If the grain is still hard, that means it is under cooked.
If it is soft, then it is cooked properly.

In case the grain is not properly cooked, you may like to
add another ½ cup of water and let it cook on low heat for another 7-10
minutes.

Traditional method (the way it is cooked in villages or
dhabas even today)

In a vessel or a pan, bring three (instead of two mentioned
in the above two methods) cups of water (for one cup of rice) to a boil.

Add the rice to the boiling water. Turn the heat to medium
and don’t cover the vessel/deep pan, because the water will boil and spill
over. 

Cook for 15-20 minutes stirring the rice gently from time to
time. Keep on checking whether the rice is properly cooked.

Once the rice is done, switch off the heat source. Drain all
the excess water. (You can use a colander. Traditionally, the vessel will just
be covered with a lid and the water poured out. This is tricky as both the
vessel and the water would be very hot.)

Although the traditional method takes more time, it is
believed to bring out the flavours better. Since the water used for boiling the
rice is totally drained out, some dieticians claim that this method helps take
out some of the starch from the rice thus shaving off some calories from this
dish.

Tip: The drained out water can act as an excellent stock for
soups especially when it comes out of the local red coloured rice.

Method using a rice cooker

Place the rice and water in the rice cooker.

Close the lid and switch on the cooker. The rice will be
cooked and the rice cooker will switch off on its own.

This is the easiest and the most fool proof way of making
rice.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes with a pressure cooker; 15-20
minutes with a deep pan; and as indicated in the rice cooker manual

Total time: 30 minutes with a pressure cooker; 35-40 minutes
with a deep pan

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This is a very simple, light and delicious dish to have in
hot summers. This is a perennial favourite all over Southern India, where many
prefer ending their meals NOT with a dessert but with curd rice!

Ingredients

Cooked rice-2 cups

Yoghurt-1 cup

Clarified butter (
Ghee
)-1 tablespoon

Black Mustard-1/2 teaspoon

Ginger-1/2 inch piece chopped up finely

Curry leaves-a few

Roasted
Chana dal
(split chick peas)-1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Optional: You can also add finely sliced carrots and
deseeded, chopped green chillies for flavour if you so desire.

Method

In a bowl, mix together the yoghurt, rice and salt.

 In a small tempering pan, add the clarified butter (
Ghee
)
and put it on your heat source.

As soon as the clarified butter warms up, add the black mustard
seeds, ginger,
chana dal
(split chick peas) and the curry leaves and let
them all splutter and sizzle.

If adding carrot and green chillies, add it to the tempering
pan at this point. Let the carrots cook a little.

Add to the rice and yoghurt mixture.

Your curd rice is ready.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 2 minutes

Total time: 7 minutes

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This delicious twist on cooked rice too is a favourite dish
in South India. Try this in the winters for the Vitamin C that lemon adds to
this recipe.

Ingredients

Cooked rice-2 cups

Lemon juice-2 tablespoon

Clarified butter (
Ghee
) -1 tablespoon

Black Mustard-1/2 teaspoon

Ginger-1/2 inch piece chopped up finely

Curry leaves-a few

Deseeded chopped green chillies-1/2 teaspoon (this is only
for flavour and not to make it hot)

Turmeric-1/2 teaspoon

Asafoetida (
Hing
)-a pinch

Roasted
Chana dal
(roasted split chick peas)-1/2
teaspoon

Water-2 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Method

In a small wok (
kadhai)
, add the clarified butter (
Ghee
)
and put it on your heat source.

As soon as the clarified butter warms up, add the black
mustard seeds, ginger,
chana dal
(split chick peas) and the curry leaves
till they all splutter and sizzle.

Now add the green chillies, turmeric and asafoetida.

Add the rice, water and salt. Mix well.

Turn off your heat source and add the lemon juice.

Again Mix well.

Your lemon rice is ready.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 2 minutes

Total time: 7 minutes

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