This savory Indian rice recipe is flavored with whole spices and fried onions. Soaking the basmati rice before cooking makes all the difference. Serve this Indian-style rice with your favorite Indian curry or dal (lentils). Make sure you warn people not to bite into the whole spices!
Ingredients
- basmati rice: 1.5 cups
- vegetable oil: 2 Tbsp
- cinnamon stick: 1 piece (2 inch piece)
- green cardamom: 2 pods
- whole cloves: 2 piece
- cumin seed: 1 Tbsp
- onion: 1 small (sliced)
- water: 2.5 cups
- salt: 1 tsp (to taste)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Place rice into a bowl with enough water to cover. Set aside to soak for 20 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in the last 10 minutes of soaking, heat oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat. Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cloves, then stir in cumin seed. Cook and stir until fragrant and toasted, about a minute, then add onion to the pot. Saute onion until the color is a rich golden brown, about 10 minutes.
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Drain water from rice, and stir into the pot. Cook and stir rice until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add water and salt, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low.
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Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork before serving.
