Meera Sodha’s top tips for perfect rice, from Fresh India:
- Measure by the mug. Measuring your rice in a mug will help you to judge how much water to cook it in. “I was taught that a mugful (an average coffee mug) will feed four people as an accompaniment. But because, like all Indians, I love to over-feed people, I usually cook a mug and a half.” 2. Always wash and soak. “Rice is very starchy, and it’s this that makes it gloopy. Washing and soaking helps to remove the starch – it’s the first thing I do before I start cooking”, says Meera. To wash the rice, place it in a bowl and pour cold water over the top. Shake your hand in the bowl, watch the water cloud up, drain, and repeat until the water is clear. Then leave to soak for 20 minutes in cold water, or 10 minutes in warm water if you can’t wait that long. 3. Steam or boil. Both methods work well, says Meera; “if you’re steaming it, use one and a half times the volume of water to rice, so one and a half mugs of water to every mug of rice. Put the rice and water into a pan, bring to the boil, cook for 2 minutes, then cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. If you’re boiling it, cover with plently of cold water, bring to the boil, lower the heat to a fast simmer and cook for 10 minutes. It’s done when it’s tender and there’s no longer a chalky core”.
- Let it rest. For nice and fluffy results, don’t skip this step. “No matter how you cook it, rice loves to rest after all that cooking. It gives it a chance to recover and for the grains to separate”. Now put your new rice-perfecting skills to the test with one of Meera’s rice recipes:
