Saffron Rice

Last month when I did the month long marathon, I made this rice to serve with the Omani Shuwa. When I make flavored rice such as pulaos, I usually sauté the spices, vegetables and rice in some oil and then finish it off in the rice cooker or in a saucepan on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker. This rice is cooked by throwing in all the spices, butter, rice and water in an electric rice cooker and cooking it until done. This is my athamma’s (MIL) recipe and whenever she visited us, she use to cook pulao or bagara this way. She used to add even green peas. Since both Mr. U and I are not fond of the green peas we get here in the US, I left it out and also added some saffron for the yellow color, as I paired it with a middle eastern dish. This rice is mildly flavored and goes well with any curry.

I had planned on posting a legumes curry this weekend and had also scheduled the post for today. This morning when I checked the post before it was published, I was not very pleased with the pictures. I thought of cooking the curry again but was in no mood to cook. Then remembered that I have another CCC post ready that i scheduled for next month and I swapped the posts. That curry will be my next post for Cooking from Cookbook Challenge next month. I usually do only 2 weeks of this challenge every month, so will see you all next month for another recipe from a cookbook. Until then, enjoy this saffron rice.

Source: Mother-in-law
Total Time: 40 – 55 minutes
Soak Time: 20 – 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 – 25 minutes
Serves: 1 – 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Basmati Rice (measuring cup used is the one that comes with the rice cooker)
• 2 cups Water
• 2 – 3 Cardamoms
• 1 – 2 Cloves
• ½ tsp. Shah Jeera
• ½” Cinnamon
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 – 2 tsp. crushed Garlic
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 3-4 strands Saffron

Preparation:

• Wash rice and place it in rice cooker container with 2 cups of water. Add rest of the ingredients and soak the rice for 20 – 30 minutes.
• Turn on the cooker and cook until rice is done and cooker shuts off.
• Let the rice rest for 5 – 10 minutes, fluff the rice with a spoon and serve.

Note:

• If one wants to add green peas, add it when rice is 75% cooked and give it a good stir. Cover and let the rice cook.

Events: This is my entry for this week’s Cooking from Cookbook Challenge