The **Now Eating** Thread

[Raikiri]

Yeah, just basmati from Lidl. It wasn't nearly as good quality as what they used at the restaurant, but passable.


For the rice, I rinsed it under hot water for a few minutes in a sieve then boiled it in 2x the volume of water for 5 mins (I added cardamon, cinnamon, saffron, and veg stock to the water for flavour).

Then drained the rice back into the sieve, added some water to the pan and steamed it for another 10 minutes, occasionally separating the rice with a fork.

For the chicken it was just two small thighs, deboned and skinned which I marinaded in a mix of greek yogurt, fenugreek, onion salt, cumin, coriander, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and cayenne. Then chucked into a hot pan with a little veg oil, but as I say I couldn't get the pan quite hot enough.

 

[Merlin5]

Yeah, just basmati from Lidl. It wasn't nearly as good quality as what they used at the restaurant, but passable.


For the rice, I rinsed it under hot water for a few minutes in a sieve then boiled it in 2x the volume of water for 5 mins (I added cardamon, cinnamon, saffron, and veg stock to the water for flavour).

Then drained the rice back into the sieve, added some water to the pan and steamed it for another 10 minutes, occasionally separating the rice with a fork.

For the chicken it was just two small thighs, deboned and skinned which I marinaded in a mix of greek yogurt, fenugreek, onion salt, cumin, coriander, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and cayenne. Then chucked into a hot pan with a little veg oil, but as I say I couldn't get the pan quite hot enough.

Awesome, thanks. To get a nice yellow colour, did you throw in a lot of the saffron?

 

[mid_gen]

I really like the look of all that, particularly the rice. Can you tell me how you prepare and cook the chicken and rice? Is that basmati? I always find it difficult to get perfectly separated rice, no matter how long I wash starch away. I usually let my rice sit in water for about 15 minutes, drain the water and let it sit for another 15 minutes, then once more for another 15 minutes. I've got a bag of brown basmati which I've also been having with tzatziki.

For loose rice :

Big pan of water with a sprinkle of salt.
When boiling, chuck in the rice, give it a swirl with a fork to make sure it's separated.
7-10 minutes is enough for basmati rice. Test it, as soon as the bite has gone, it's done.
Chuck in a sieve, and rinse lightly with cold water to get rid of any excess starch.
Leave for 5 minutes.

Main thing is not to overcook it....it will always turn into rice pudding/congee if you boil it to death!

You can use a bit of turmeric to colour the rice as well if saffron is a bit extravagant.

 

[Cleisthenes]

Having a total lazy day in the house today. Was trying to decide what to have for dinner when I saw Dominos was offering 50% off again. Got a large with double chicken, sausage, ham, extra cheese and jalapeno's. Delicious!!!

That doesn't even look cooked

 

[robfosters]

That doesn't even look cooked

It looks like it’s been cooked, but has been sat all night under a students bed or something.

 

[Merlin5]

For loose rice :

Big pan of water with a sprinkle of salt.
When boiling, chuck in the rice, give it a swirl with a fork to make sure it's separated.
7-10 minutes is enough for basmati rice. Test it, as soon as the bite has gone, it's done.
Chuck in a sieve, and rinse lightly with cold water to get rid of any excess starch.
Leave for 5 minutes.

Main thing is not to overcook it....it will always turn into rice pudding/congee if you boil it to death!

You can use a bit of turmeric to colour the rice as well if saffron is a bit extravagant.

Thanks.
So, not washing it before cooking?
Fill the pan up with a lot of water rather than 1 and a half or two times the volume of rice?
And after rinsing with cold water, presumably it will need reheating in the microwave?

 

[Merlin5]

It looks like it’s been sat all night under a students bed or something.

Lol

 

[mid_gen]

Thanks.
So, not washing it before cooking?
Fill the pan up with a lot of water rather than 1 and a half or two times the volume of rice?
And after rinsing with cold water, presumably it will need reheating in the microwave?

Washing beforehand wouldn't hurt, but I don't bother....

Definitely more water the better.

I only use a little cold water to rinse it off, so it retains enough heat. If not, just rinse with a little water from the kettle.

 

[Merlin5]

Washing beforehand wouldn't hurt, but I don't bother....

Definitely more water the better.

I only use a little cold water to rinse it off, so it retains enough heat. If not, just rinse with a little water from the kettle.

Actually, I've been boiling my brown basmati in a full pan of water. My basmati is Morrisons own. A review said it's good but really dirty and needs a good soak. It's true, after letting it sit in 3 lots of water for 15 minutes at a time, the water still got cloudy. Perhaps I ought to buy Tilda rice, maybe it's cleaner and needs less washing.

 

[Merlin5]

New thing for me, italian cookies called Baci di Dama, otherwise known as Lady's Kisses. They're hazelnut cookies filled with chocolate. Homemade of course. 140g Hazelnuts blanched, roasted and ground up. Sugar, pinch of salt butter and rice flour. Really delicious nutty flavour, sweet with a mild salty aftertaste. Texture a bit like shortbread.

 

[Raikiri]

They look great Merlin, taste like nutella?

Awesome, thanks. To get a nice yellow colour, did you throw in a lot of the saffron?

Just a few strands, it's stupid expensive so I don't use it often. Some of the colour also comes from the veg stock, but as said turmeric will do the same without quite the same flavour.

 

[Merlin5]

Thanks Raikiri. Didn't know saffron is expensive, but I only want the colour and I believe I have an unused jar of Turmeric.

My cookies can have Nutella filling, there's a few recipes using it, but I melted and piped Bournville.

 

[robfosters]

Thanks Raikiri. Didn't know saffron is expensive, but I only want the colour and I believe I have an unused jar of Turmeric.

My cookies can have Nutella filling, there's a few recipes using it, but I melted and piped Bournville.

By weight, saffron is more expensive than gold.

 

[Merlin5]

By weight, saffron is more expensive than gold.

I can see why.

 

[Merlin5]

For loose rice :

Big pan of water with a sprinkle of salt.
When boiling, chuck in the rice, give it a swirl with a fork to make sure it's separated.
7-10 minutes is enough for basmati rice. Test it, as soon as the bite has gone, it's done.
Chuck in a sieve, and rinse lightly with cold water to get rid of any excess starch.
Leave for 5 minutes.

Main thing is not to overcook it....it will always turn into rice pudding/congee if you boil it to death!

I did my rice well tonight. I let it sit in water for a few minutes until some of the cloudiness went, and only 12 minutes boiling got it just right. I made sure not to turn it into rice pudding.
Rinsed it off to remove the stickiness, let it sit while my chicken was cooking, and then reheated for 45 seconds in the microwave. Perfectly separated rice! So, thanks for the help. Brown basmati is quite bland though, but with a little salt and pepper, some petit pois mixed in and a few dollops of tzatziki, it was nice.

I've also got some white basmati which I'll cook as Raikiri suggested and colour it with turmeric.

 

[DrToffnar]

I just us the 1/2 5/5 method whenever I cook rice. 1 rice to 2 parts water, boil. Soon as it starts getting furious, dial it down to simmer and whack the lid on. Leave for 5 mins, then turn the heat off for 5 mins leaving the lid on. Perfect rice every time, very rarely do I feel the need to wash it several times beforehand either, though it depends on the brand of course.

 

[Craig1981]

Had a few eggs nearly a week past their use by date. They passed the dunking in water test, so I bunged them into the microwave with some milk, salt and pepper. Added some more pepper to taste after cooked and had with toast

 

[explicit4u]

For rice Lidl own brand is decent but has definitely gone down hill lately. I'll still pick it up when my local does the big 10KG ones.

Badshah or Laila are my go to brands nowadays, both great quality but can usually be had for much less than Tilda when on offer.

 

[Merlin5]

'Almost No Fat Banana Bread'. That's the title of the recipe. I guess because there's no butter. Lovey and moist, great flavour with cinnamon, bananas and a little apple sauce. I added fresh blueberries on top.

 

[robfosters]

'Almost No Fat Banana Bread'. That's the title of the recipe. I guess because there's no butter. Lovey and moist, great flavour with cinnamon, bananas and a little apple sauce. I added fresh blueberries on top.

Looks lovely, but not suitable for trypophobics.