An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey [83]
To serve: Mix the rice and peas gently and serve on large platter.
This is a relatively bland dish. It goes well with Indian lentils and meats, and equally well with almost any American meat dish.
Rice with peas and whole spices
SERVES 4–6
2½ tablespoons vegetable oil
5 whole cloves
5 black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches long
4 cardamom pods
2 cups long-grain rice
1 cup shelled peas, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
Heat oil in a 3-quart heavy-bottomed pot (with tight-fitting lid—to be used later) over medium heat. Add cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, and cardamom. Stir for about 10 to 20 seconds, until spices begin to expand and change color. Add the rice, peas if using fresh ones, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Stir for 3 minutes. Add 3 cups water and salt, stir again, and bring to a boil. Cover, and turn flame very low. Cook for about 25 to 30 minutes.
If you are using frozen peas, defrost them by placing a cupful in colander and running under hot water. Leave to drain. When rice has cooked 25 minutes, lift cover off and quickly put defrosted peas on top of rice. Replace cover and cook about 5 minutes longer or until done.
To serve: Gently mix the rice and peas and serve on large platter. Warn diners not to bite into the whole spices. This dish tastes good with Koftas, or with Chicken with Sliced Lemon and Fried Onions. Also serve yogurt, plain or with cut-up tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
Rice with potatoes and cumin seed
SERVES 4–6
Rice and potatoes? A double starch? It’s not really all that frightening. After all, if you were going to serve yourself a spoonful of rice, you could just as easily serve yourself a spoonful of rice and potatoes. The starch content is about the same, whether you’re eating one starch or two, and in America at least the combination has the virtue of novelty.
2 medium-sized or 1 large potato
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2 cups long-grain rice
1 teaspoon salt
Peel potato, dice into ¾-inch cubes.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (with tight-fitting lid—to be used later) over medium heat. When very hot, add the cumin seeds, and after they have begun to change color and “pop” (about 10 to 20 seconds), put in the potatoes. Let the potatoes brown to a nice golden color on all sides. Then add the rice and stir for about 2 minutes. Add 3 cups water and salt, stir, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the flame very low, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. See if rice is done; if not, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
To serve: Serve with marinated pork chops—or with Kheema and green beans. This is a simple yet very versatile dish that could be served with plain yogurt to an invalid or with Korma at a banquet.
Rice with cauliflower and cumin seed
SERVES 4–6
This dish is very much like the preceding one, only cauliflower is substituted for the potatoes.
1 small head cauliflower
Vegetable oil (enough to have about 1½ inches in cauliflower skillet)
Freshly ground pepper
2½ tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2 cups long-grain rice
Salt
Break cauliflower into flowerets not bigger than 1½ inches in length and 1 inch in width at the head. Wash and drain flowerets thoroughly on paper towels.
Heat enough oil in skillet, wok, or karhai to have about 1½ inches. Keep on medium flame, much as you would for French fries. When hot, put in the flowerets a batch at a time and deep-fry until they are light brown on all sides and almost cooked through. Leave the insides a bit crunchy. As each batch is done, drain on paper towels, put into a dish, sprinkle with a dash of salt and a crunch of the pepper grinder, and cover.
Heat 2½ tablespoons oil in 3–4-quart heavy-bottomed pot over medium flame. When very hot, stir in the cumin seeds. As soon as they change color