This week I am starting a new series of articles called Indian food 101. Each article would focus on one staple ingredient in Indian cuisine. I start with rice, a food staple that accompanies every kind of dish ranging from meats to vegetables.
Rice is a staple source of carbohydrate in Indian cuisine along with whole grain wheat. Like many Asian cultures, Indian food is heavily dependant on rice. There are many species of rice and each variety of rice is specific to its regional cuisine. The rice varieties specific to Indian cuisine include Basmati, Dubraj, Sona masuri, idly rice etc. For more information about the varieties of rice and the countries that produce them, check out the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rice_varieties
In Phoenix, we get quite a few varieties of Indian rice including Basmati, Sona Masuri, idly rice, and Kalijeera Gobinda bhoj. Of these, Basmati rice is most commonly available and universally recognized as Indian rice. It is a long grain rice and good for making fragrant rice dishes like pulau (pillaf), biriyani etc. There are many brands currently available like Royal basmati, Zafrani etc. The best deal for Basmati is available in Costco where you get a 20lb bag of Basmati rice for around $15. Other valley Indian groceries also sell basmati rice in 10-20 lb bags. Sona masuri is the next variety available in Phoenix. It is white rice, like basmati but its grains are shorter. Kalijeera gobinda bhog is a variety of rice that comes from Bangladesh. The grains are small and this kind of rice is used to make rice pudding, rice cakes etc. Other that this some brands of parboiled rice and idly rice are also available though the brands vary by store. Parboiling is a process by which steam is passed through the rice grains with the husks on. The resulting rice is more nutritious than white rice as it retains a lot of the nutrients lost in husking. Parboiled rice is also eaten as such or ground into a batter to make pancakes like idlies and dosas. For more information about the kinds of rice (white, enriched, parboiled etc.) check the link http://www.ricegourmet.com/About_RiceTypes.htm
Cooking rice is easy as all you need to do is boil the rice in water in a deep vessel like a pasta pot. But the ratio of rice to water and the time for cooking varies with the kind of rice used. An electric rice cooker speeds up and simplifies the process and you can have warm, fluffy rice in less than twenty minutes. The other alternative is to boil the rice in excess water and after checking for doneness, to drain off the extra water along with the statch (similar to boiling pasta). Many people prefer this method as the resultant rice is less strachy and has less carbs. However, one has to periodically check for doneness and make sure that the water doesn't boil over scorching the rice at the bottom.
The ratio of rice to water for some common varieties of rice is as follows:
Basmati: 2 cups rice:3 cups water
Sona Masuri: 2 cups rice: 4 cups water
Gobinda bhog: 2 cups rice: 21/2 cups water
Here are a couple of recipes that use rice.
1. Pulao of pillaf: Commonly uses basmati or gobinda bhog rice. A mixture of fragrant spices, nuts, salt, sugar make this an entree by itself. For the recipe for sweet pulao check the article http://www.examiner.com/indian-food-in-phoenix/sweet-rice-pulao-for-festivals Please note that this recipe uses a pressure cooker instead of a rice cooker, so needs little more water to let off the steam.
2. Rice pudding or kheer: Again both basmati and gobinda bhog are the prefered varieties of rice. The rice is cooked in milk and cream along with nuts and sugar or jaggery. You can get the recipe at http://www.examiner.com/indian-food-in-phoenix/sweet-rice-pulao-for-festivals
3. Idly and dosas: These are pancakes that are made using ground rice and lentils. The recipe would be posted next week.
Comments