You wouldn’t be the only one to think there’s not much behind it. I mean, how hard can boiling literal rice get, right?! But if you’ve found your way to this post, you’ll likely know that the answer is ‘It’s not quite thaaaat simple…’. It’s an art form - getting the grains soft and fragrant. Getting the right balance between tender and mush. Perfecting the texture. It’s not just a case of boiling literal rice. In this post, I’m going to be breaking down everything you need to know about cooking the basmati rice of your dreams. I’m sharing everything, from the exact method to follow, the best utensils and troubleshooting the most common issues when cooking basmati rice.
Fluffy, soft and light - as opposed to clumpy and dense. All the grains are individual - not sticky or starchy - and definitely not broken. Long grains of rice, as opposed to short grains.
Like this: I wholeheartedly prefer the boil-and-drain method - draining the water drains out the stodgy starch and leads to fluffier, lighter and more individual grains of rice hands down. Yes, the absorption method is easier, but when you compare the results of both methods, the absorption method always fares less than ideal. In this post, I’m going to be walking you through the stove top method. In my experience, this is the BEST way to cook Basmati rice, hands down. Watch this space for more posts in the future about how to cook Basmati rice using other methods.
Part 1: Washing and soaking
This is a very important, and often overlooked, step. I have always noticed a difference in how well my rice cooked when I’ve washed and soaked it vs when I haven’t. Washing it removes a lot of starch. Starch makes rice clumpy and sticky - which is what we’re actively avoiding! Soaking the rice serves more than one purpose:
It helps loosen up any residual starch. It hydrates the rice grains, leading to an elongated and more ‘bloomed’ grain (‘khilla hua daana’ in Urdu) - which is considered a hallmark of excellent basmati rice. It reduces cook time by up to 20% There are health benefits too
To wash, place the rice grains in a sieve or colander, and use cold water to gently rinse the rice grains, using your hands to swish the rice around. Swishing the rice around really helps getting the starch out. Wash until the water runs clear. Alternatively, you can also place the rice in a large bowl, add in cold water, swish it around and then pour out the water. You’ll need to do this several times, until the water starts to run clear. To soak, place the washed rice in a bowl, and add enough cold water to completely submerge the rice. Allow this to soak a minimum of 30 minutes, ideally one hour. You can soak for up to 6 hours in my experience - but please note that if you soak it for longer than 1 hour, your rice will become a bit more delicate (i.e., brittle) and will need to be handled extra gently when cooking AND cook time may also reduce by 2-3 minutes. Once ready to cook, drain out the water and proceed. How much salt should I add? As a rule of thumb, for this cooking method, there is no strict ratio for salt since we’re boiling and then draining. It’s like pasta, essentially. If you need a ratio though, use 1.5tsp salt for every 1 cup (200g) of rice. Once you’re at a rolling boil (think lots of aggressive bubbles), add in the washed + drained basmati rice. Cook the rice over a high heat at this rolling boil - stirring very gently once or twice. Avoid excessive or aggressive stirring - this can break the rice grain. The best spoon to use for this would be a flat slotted spoon or a rice paddle. Now here is the part that gets most people in a pickle - you want to cook the rice till it’s al dente - about 80% done. You can check this by taking out a a few grains of rice out using your spoon and tasting it - it should be cooked, but have a bite to it. There is no set time for how long this will take - it will vary depending on the brand and quality of rice you’re using, how long the rice was soaked for, and the temperature you’re cooking at. As a rule of thumb, this can take between 7-8 minutes, but use your own discretion to assess when the rice is al dente. Once you’re at this stage, drain the water out of the rice using a sieve or colander. You can discard the water. Turn the heat down as low as you can get it. Using the same pot, heat some butter, oil or ghee - 1 teaspoon for every 1 cup (200g) of rice. This is optional, but highly recommended. Add back the drained basmati rice, and very gently fold the butter/oil/ghee into the rice, so it’s evenly dispersed. Place a tight-fitting lid on. Ideally, line the lid with a clean tea towel - you can use foil or cling film if you don’t have a clean tea towel. Here’s how this set up will look like: So that’s the pre-heated flat pan at the bottom (which again, is optional but highly recommended), then your pot of rice, topped off with a tight lid lined with either a clean tea towel, foil or cling film. Allow the rice to sit over this very low heat for 15-20 minutes. During this time, do not remove the lid or disturb it. This step is crucial to get that fluffy, pillow-y soft texture. Once the time is up, you can remove the lid and fluff the rice up using that flat slotted spoon or rice paddle. Your fluffy, soft and fragrant basmati rice is ready.
Tilda Grand Extra Long Basmati Rice Daawat Extra Long Basmati Rice Laila Xtra Long Basmati Rice (the black bag only - other types of rice from Laila haven’t impressed me) East End Royal Basmati Rice Zebra Basmati Rice Shama Basmati Rice
Most of these brands are available in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and other countries. When your rice is spread out, you have less weight being pushed onto the grains in the middle and bottom. Less weight = less chance of breakage, more evenly cooked rice, less chance of mushy rice. Here’s a visual for the kind of pots/pans you’re looking for: Conversely, using a tall pot which keeps the rice all jam-packed is more likely to lead to stodgy, mushy rice - these are best avoided for rice. Stock pots and pressure cooker-type shapes usually fall into this category. Again, a visual: Solutions: Also, make sure you’re fluffing the rice up really well after the steaming is completed. Don’t let the rice sit with the lid on after it’s done - immediately take the lid off, fluff the rice, ensuring you get riiiiiiight to the bottom too. Even if you don’t intend to serve the rice immediately, this is very important to ensure your rice doesn’t turn to clumps.
Refrigerating
Store cooked basmati rice in the fridge. It’s important it is stored in an airtight container, otherwise the rice grain will become dry and chewy. Store for up to up to 6 days. The best way to reheat from refrigerated is either: (i) in a wide dish in the oven, covered in foil with a bit of water mixed in for 20 minutes, or(ii) in the microwave, covered with a damp kitchen towel for 1-2 minutes. Ideally, you want to freeze the rice airtight in a thin layer, as opposed to in a huge block. It’ll make defrosting it both quicker, as well as reducing the texture-damage. To defrost, place it in the fridge overnight and consume within 24 hours. Do not re-freeze rice that has already been defrosted.
Use Sella basmati rice - this is a variety of basmati rice which has been parboiled, and is much easier to keep fluffy and individual. It’s actually incredibly hard to mess up Sella basmati, which makes it a great choice for beginners. Zebra Sella Basmati Rice is a greak pick. Don’t skimp on quality - as a beginner, sometimes you’ll make mistakes - it’s inevitable. The great thing about good quality rice is that it can be very forgiving of those mistakes. Let’s say you don’t quick wash it as well as you should, or you don’t give it the right amount of steaming-time - good quality rice can handle those misses and still give you good results. With poorer quality rice, I find you can’t get away with cutting corners. Work in small batches - don’t make 5 cups of rice for your first go! Start with small portions and gain confidence there before aiming big. For fragrance - adding a small stick of cinnamon and a few cloves really enhances the aroma!
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