The Ultimate Rice Cooker (28 page)

Authors: Julie Kaufmann

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BOOK: The Ultimate Rice Cooker

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5. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, sprinkle the rice with the toasted almonds and green onions. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Serve immediately.

note:
This pilaf can be held for 1 to 2 hours on Keep Warm; however, do not add the almonds and green onions to the rice until 15 minutes before serving.

aromatic kalijira rice pilaw

Pilaw
or pilaf, as this rice-based dish is known in some parts of the world, is made in different ways in different regions of India. A rice reserved for special occasions,
pilaw
is served with a generous sprinkling of almonds and raisins on top. But even without the embellishment, this
pilaw
is a pleasant change from boiled rice. This is a traditional northern Indian method of preparation, courtesy of Lotus Foods.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

fuzzy logic or on/off

CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular

YIELD: Serves 4

RICE

2 cups Kalijira rice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee (
clarified butter
;)

2 small white boiling onions, finely chopped

2½ cups water

¼ teaspoon turmeric

3 cloves

3 green cardamom pods

One 4-inch cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon salt

GARNISH (OPTIONAL)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee

2 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds

2 tablespoons raisins

1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl and rinse with cold water, rubbing the rice with your hands to remove any bits of dust; drain.

2. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the oil in the rice cooker bowl. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until the rice turns opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the water, spices, and salt; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.

3. Make the garnish, if using. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and sauté until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove the almonds with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towl. Add the raisins to the same oil and sauté until they puff up, in about 1 minute or less. Remove the raisins with a slotted spoon and drain with the almonds.

4. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot, topped with the almond-raisin garnish, if using.

fruited pilaf

Fruited pilaf is pretty enough for a party and a smashing foil for grilled lamb chops. This pilaf combines an Indian spice blend called garam masala with dried cranberries—an Old World tradition with a New World flourish.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) or large (10cup) rice cooker; fuzzy logic or on/off CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular YIELD: Serves 8

3 cups white basmati rice

¼ cup ghee (
clarified butter
;) or unsalted butter

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons dried currants

¼ cup chopped dried apricots

¼ cup dried cranberries

4 cups water

¼ teaspoon saffron threads (optional)

2 tablespoons pine nuts

CLICK TO SEE GARAM MASALA

1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water, and drain.

2. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Add the ghee to the rice bowl. When melted, add the garam masala and salt. Cook, stirring, until the spices are fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the drained rice; stir well to combine. Cook, stirring a few times, until the rice is shiny, fragrant, and transparent, about 5 minutes more. Add the currants, apricots, and cranberries; stir well to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the water. Crumble the saffron threads, if using, into the water. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.

3. While the rice is cooking, toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat until golden, watching carefully so they do not burn. Set aside to cool.

4. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff the rice well with a plastic or wooden rice paddle or wooden spoon. It will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours.

5. When ready to serve, spoon the pilaf into a dish, sprinkle it with the toasted pine nuts, and serve immediately.

lamb biryani

Biryanis
are the deliciously complex layered rice dishes of India. In this rendition, the layers of saffron-streaked rice conceal tender pieces of boneless lamb cooked in a spicy yogurt marinade. Creating a
biryani
is a three-step process. First, the rice and filling ingredients are each cooked separately. Then the dish is assembled and cooked again. This final step is usually done in a tightly sealed dish set in the oven (or sometimes on top of the stove). We found that a rice cooker set on the Keep Warm cycle accomplishes the final cooking beautifully, and with one less pot to clean. But for a more authentic, or more dramatic, presentation, the dish can be assembled in a pretty casserole, covered very tightly with aluminum foil and the lid, and baked for about 30 minutes at 250ºF. (If your rice cooker doesn’t have a Keep Warm cycle, you will have to finish it in the oven.) Rose water is available in Indian, Middle Eastern, and gourmet markets.

MACHINE: Large (10-cup) rice cooker ;

fuzzy logic or on/off

CYCLE: Regular

YIELD: Serves 6 to 8

MARINADE AND LAMB

1 medium-size onion, quartered

4 cloves garlic, peeled

One 11/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

1 jalapeño chile, halved and seeded

2 cups plain yogurt (don’t use nonfat)

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 pounds boneless lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into ¾ -inch cubes

2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

FILLING

2 tablespoons ghee

2 medium-size onions, halved and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds

2 tablespoons dried currants

RICE

3 cups white basmati rice

5 green cardamom pods

One 4-inch cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons ghee

2 tablespoons rose water

3½ cups water

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

½ teaspoon saffron threads

1.
Make the marinade:
Place the onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño in a food processor. Pulse 10 to 20 times, until everything is finely chopped. Add the yogurt and coriander; pulse until well mixed. Place the lamb cubes in a large bowl. Pour the marinade over the lamb and stir to combine. Cover and marinate for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2. Meanwhile, rinse the rice in a bowl, let it soak for 15 minutes, drain well, and allow to dry, spread out on a clean tea towel.

3.
Make the filling:
In a large sauté pan, heat the ghee over medium-high heat. Cook the sliced onions until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the almonds and currants; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until they are well browned but not burnt, about 5 minutes more. Remove the onion mixture from the pan and drain on a double layer of paper towels.

CLICK TO SEE ABOUT GHEE

4. In the same pan, heat the 2 tablespoons ghee over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lamb from the marinade and place in the skillet. Reserve the marinade. Cook the lamb, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is browned and almost dry, about 15 minutes.

5. While the lamb is cooking, make the rice. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl along with the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, ghee, and rose water; stir to combine. Close the cover and set the rice cooker for the regular cycle. Cook until the rice is fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the water and salt, stir to combine, and let the cycle complete.

6. Warm the milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove. Add the saffron threads, stir to combine, and set aside.

7. Add the reserved marinade to the lamb in the skillet; stir to combine. Season with the ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. When the marinade comes to a boil, cover the skillet and cook over the lowest heat possible until the lamb is tender and the marinade has almost cooked away, checking the liquid level occasionally, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat if the mixture appears to be in danger of burning.

8. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Scoop out about half of the rice into a medium-size bowl. Smooth the rice remaining in the rice cooker into an even layer. Sprinkle about half of the saffron milk over the rice in the rice cooker. Layer the lamb on top of the rice, arranging it in a smooth layer. Layer the onion filling on top of the lamb. (If desired, reserve a small amount of the onion mixture for garnish.) Top with the remaining rice, smoothing it with a rice paddle or wooden spoon. Sprinkle the rice with the remaining saffron milk. Close the cover and continue to steam on the Keep Warm cycle for 30 to 45 minutes.

9. Serve the
biryani
immediately. It can be served directly from the rice cooker bowl, or for a more elegant presentation, invert the rice cooker bowl onto a large platter with raised sides. Carefully remove the bowl and garnish, if desired, with the reserved onion filling.

zucchini and mungdal

This is a small-batch, very traditional dal recipe (double or triple the recipe, if necessary, and use a 10-cup rice cooker) using split mung, also known as yellow dal, known for being the most digestible of all the beans . While Indian food has a reputation for being hot because of the spices, dishes can be quite delicately flavored as well. This mild dal would be the Indian equivalent of chicken soup, as it has healing, nurturing qualities.

The important technique to master is initially heating the spices in oil. Leave the rice cooker cover open and listen until you hear the seeds start to pop or jump up in the bowl. You must immediately add the rest of the ingredients to stop the spices from overcooking or browning. If this does happen, just turn off the cooker, wipe out the oil and spices, discard, and start over, rather than ruin the flavor of an entire pot of soup. Buy black mustard seeds at a natural food store or Indian grocery; you will need them for both the dal and the rice. Asafoetida is available at Indian markets. Serve with whole wheat chapatis or tortilla flatbread, heated on a griddle, and a green salad.