Jeera Rice

This is a family favourite in rice entrees. Made this for lunch yesterday, along with the Dum Aloo. After so much of tittle-tattle just yesterday, let me get onto the recipe pronto.

Ingredients:

• Jeera Rice/Jeerak Samba Rice (short-grained, fragrant rice) – 3 cups (washed and drained of all water)
• Onions – 2 nos (large-sized; finely chopped)
• Ginger – 1″ long piece; finely chopped/minced
• Garlic – 5-6 pods; finely chopped/minced
• Green Chillies – 3-4 nos (slit vertically)
• Coriander/Cilantro – a handful; finely chopped
• Jeera/Cumin seeds – 2 tsps
• Bay leaves – 1-2 nos
• Salt – to taste
• Ghee – 2 + 2 tbsps
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Water – 6 cups (rice: water ratio is 1:2)

(Note: I prepared this in my rice cooker; you could adapt this recipe to the way you normally make pulao/similar rice entrees)

Serves: 4-5 persons

Procedure:

• Heat 2 tbsps ghee and 1 tbsp oil in the rice cooker vessel. Once hot, add the jeera and allow to splutter.
• Add the bay leaves and fry for a half-minute.
• Add the onions, minced ginger and garlic, slit green chillies and saute till the onions are cooked tender.
• Add salt and fry another minute.
• In the meantime, fry the washed and drained rice with 2 tbsps ghee in a non-stick pan, till the grains start sticking to each other and all the water content has evaporated from the rice (This is the trick to getting separate grains of rice once done).
• Add this fried rice to the rice cooker vessel. Stir well and fry for 2 minutes.
• Now add 6 cups of water to the rice cooker (use the same cup that you used to measure the rice).
• Adjust salt if needed and cover the rice cooker till the rice is properly cooked. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes before you open the lid.
• Garnish with coriander and serve hot with gravy of choice and/or some refreshing tomato-onion-cucumber raitha. Nirvana!