When revisiting my Jamie Oliver’s Inspired Chicken Tikka Masala (you’ve got to check it out!) I promised you recipe for lovely side dish to go with your curry. And here it is… Forget plain basmati rice and try my Easy Indian Spiced Basmati Rice, ready in just under half an hour.
This simple rice dish might sound and look complicated but it really isn’t. After I’ve allowed 5 minutes on rinsing your rice and gathering your spices and 5 minutes resting time once cooked, this lovely pilau pretty much cooks itself in 10 minutes flat!
I’ve used absorption method here which means that the rice cooks as it absorbs all the liquid. I would suggest using classic vs easy cook basmati as this is the one I’ve used for this recipe although I suspect that easy cook rice will work as well as long as it’s been well rinsed under the cold water.
That’s really all there is to it! Quick and uncomplicated? You bet! 🙂
Oh, one last thing! You might want to add a small knob of butter to your rice after the resting time but it’s not necessary especially if you are serving it with a really saucy curry.
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- Herbs & spices
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- Frying herbs & spices in ghee/butter
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- Adding rinsed basmati rice
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- Adding freshly boiled water
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- Easy Indian Spiced Basmati Rice is ready
Easy Indian Spiced Basmati Rice
Ingredients
- 300 g (1.5 cups) basmati rice rinsed well
- 20 g (1 Tbsp) ghee or unsalted butter
- 7 cardamom pods bashed slightly
- 7 cloves
- 2 bay leaves fresh or dried
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 600 ml (2.5 cups) freshly boiled water
- small bunch fresh coriander/cilantro chopped and some leaves left whole as garnish
Instructions
- Rinse basmati rice by placing it in a sieve and running under the cold water for a good minute. Set aside.
- Melt ghee or butter in a pan with lid and add all the spices and bay leaves. Let them fry for approx 30 sec.
- Add rinsed basmati rice and stir it well so that it is well coated in ghee/butter.
- Add freshly boiled water and salt and stir well. Bring it back to the boil and cover the pot with a lid. Reduce the heat to minimum and let the rice simmer for approx. 10 min at which point lift the lid and check whether all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Take the pan off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork. Put the lid back on and let the rice stand approx. 5 min while you chop your coriander.
- Add chopped coriander, adjust seasoning if necessary and serve garnished with some extra coriander leaves.
Notes
- Calories are approximate per one serving of rice.
- You might want to add a small knob of butter to the finished dish right before serving for that extra richness.
Nutrition
This gorgeous spiced rice dish is perfect with any curry but if you are true curry connoisseur 😉 you will also love a bit of naan bread. If that’s the case then check out my Easy Naan Bread Without Yeast recipe which will complete your curry feast without tandoor oven in sight!
To add to your delicious banquet, make sure you take a look at Easy Butter Chicken Curry and Easy Cauliflower & Lentil Curry recipes too – perfect family friendly curries in no time at all.
Have you tried my Easy Indian Spiced Basmati Rice? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post, I love reading them!
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Pin For Later!
I’m linking my Easy Indian Spiced Basmati Rice with the following pages:
Cook Blog Share hosted by Monika at Everyday Healthy Recipes and Jacqui at Recipes Made Easy
Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Corina at Searching for Spice
Brilliant Blog Posts hosted by Vicki at Honest Mum Blog
Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily at A Mummy Too
World-Food Linky hosted by Jess at Jess Eats and Travels
Thomas says
I do think making rice like this using the absorption method makes so much difference to the texture and flavour and I love the combination of spices in it too!
Corina Blum says
This sounds so good! I do think making rice like this using the absorption method makes so much difference to the texture and flavour and I love the combination of spices in it too! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Corina! 🙂 Absorption method seems to work best for pilau type rice dishes without a doubt. This one had become our favourite of late for sure. 🙂 x
Jessica says
Sometimes It’s hard to get rice right. We cheat and use a rice cooker usually but this recipe looks so simple, I’ll give it a go next time! Thanks for linking up to my World Food linky! x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Jess! Rice is definitely a tricky one to get right sometimes but this one here is fool proof and really tasty too. I don’t blame you for using rice cooker especially if it works well. I’ve got rice cooker function in my Instant Pot I’m yet to try and I will lol. x
jacqui says
sounds like the perfect accompaniment to any Indian curry, thank you for sharing on #CookBlogShare
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Jacqui! It’s just a bit more special than plain Basmati and if you are making fake-away curry than it’s best to get the full experience, rice included lol