Indian Pilaf

Preparation time:: 30 mins

Cooking time:: 15 mins

Serves:: 4

Barb Northwood's Masterclass on making Indian Pilaf!

Ingredients

1½ cups basmati rice
3½ cups chicken stock
¼ tsp saffron threads
50g ghee
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsps finely grated lemon rind
2 fresh bay leaves

Fresh coriander, to garnish\

Spice Blend

5 cardamom pods, split, seeds removed, pods discarded
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp caraway seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns

Method

1 Rinse rice well. Transfer to a bowl. Cover with cold water, stand for 30 minutes. Drain.

2 To make spice blend, pound all ingredients gently in a mortar and pestle until finely crushed.

3 Place stock in a medium saucepan over a high heat. Add saffron. Boil. Remove from heat. Strain over a heatproof jug. Discard saffron. Cover stock.

4 Heat ghee in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add onions, garlic, rind and leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until onions are soft. Add rice and spices. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, or until spices are fragrant and rice is well coated.

5 Add hot stock to rice mixture. Simmer, covered, over a low heat, for about 15 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid absorbed.

6 Fluff pilaf with a fork. Serve garnished with coriander.

Try this variations...

Middle Eastern vegetable pilaf

Follow method for Indian Pilaf. Replace spice blend with 1 tblsp ras el hanout spice mix. Omit saffron, rind and bay leaves. Cook onions and garlic with 900g chopped cauliflower florets until slightly softened. Add 400g can drained chickpeas with stock. Once cooked, stir in ½ cup currants. Garnish with mint sprig.

Notes

Barb's Tips!

If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, process spices in a small food processor.

Pilaf, a rice dish simmered in a flavoured stock, is common to the Middle East, central and south Asia, east Africa and the Caribbean.

Ensure you use a good quality saffron. It can be replaced with turmeric.

Ghee is a form of clarified butter. To make, melt butter in a saucepan over a low to medium heat, until bubbling. Spoon off the white milk solids from the top and discard. The clear liquid that remains has a high smoke point, so it’s perfect for frying.

Pilaf can be made in a rice cooker. Follow method to end of Step 4. Transfer to rice cooker with stock. Cooking times may vary – follow cooker manufacturer’s instructions.

Keep any leftover pilaf, in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to two days.

Source:: New Idea
Author:: New Idea Magazine
Stylist:: Carolyn Fienberg
Photographer:: Andre Martin

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