How to cook perfect Basmati?

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

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I bought some supermarket basmati, not tilda, and cooked some a couple of times now. It came out ok but grains not as dry and separated as I'd like it, like you get in indian restaurants. Is it because they steam it instead?

The packet says for 75g use 150g water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 12 minutes. It also says add water as necessary which I had to do because the saucepan was getting dry before the rice was soft enough. Anyway, it came out ok, a little overcooked, a little sticky. I had rinsed it beforehand and again after cooking.

According to Gordon Ramsey's recipe on youtube for cooking basmati, he reckons 1 part rice to 1 and half parts water, put lid on, bring to the boil as quick as possible then bring it down and simmer for 8 minutes and don't life the lid until then. His rice didn't look that separated to me tbh. But I used more than 1 and half parts water and I still had to add more.

So what is the best way to get perfectly separated, non soggy basmati, people?
 
I always get the best results steaming and microwaving.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
1 part rice to 2 parts water. Then simmer in the microwave for around 8 minutes or steam for about 20. Always comes out nice and fluffy.

I also use a pressure steamer which does it in about 4 minutes.
 
Soggy usual means its overcooked, my Basmati usually takes about 8 minutes. But I taste it at about 6 then a few more times until its ready. I also don't rinse it after cooking.
 
I do mine in chicken/vegetable stock; 1 pint of stock to 15 fl oz of rice (adjust the ratio accordingly). Bring to the boil and then simmer for ~20 minutes, keeping it covered - if the saucepan lid has a hole then cover it with some clingfilm.

All of the liquid boils off leaving nicely cooked rice that's not sticky or wet. Btw the more you 'fiddle' with rice in the pan, the stickier it will get.
 
I do the following:

75g Basmati
150ml water.

Pinch of salt in the water (to taste) and bring the water to the boil, as soon as it's boiling add the rice and stir briefly so it doesn't stick then bring back to the boil, at which point stick on the lid and turn down to a low heat (on our hob it's 4/10), after 10 minutes remove from the heat and leave for 10 minutes, after the 20 minutes are up remove the lid and stir with a metal fork to fluff it up (do not remove the lid at all until the end).

Can also use the same method but add in stock to the water first.
 
I do it in a saucepan with lid on (lid off for sticky rice). 2:1 water/rice

I soak the rice in warm water (not boiling or very hot) for 1/2 hour, then rinse with cold water until water runs clear. I know soaking it isn’t conventional but I read it somewhere and does make rinsing it that much easier IMO.

Then I heat up the water in the pan to a simmer and sometimes will add tumeric or a stock cube, depending what I'm doing with the rice afterwards. Then add the rice and put the lid on and turn hob down to just very gently simmering. For me 8 minutes and it’s done.

If the rice very very slowly slides down the pan then I turn off the heat, remove pan from hob and leave lid off. It will fluff up nicely.

I have heard steamers are better but we’ve always done it the above method with no issues.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys, it seems 2 parts water to 1 part rice is the key.

tom_e, I might buy that microwave steamer. How long does it take to cook and is there any chance of it melting like some reviewers said?

robj20 said:
I always get the best results steaming and microwaving.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
1 part rice to 2 parts water. Then simmer in the microwave for around 8 minutes or steam for about 20. Always comes out nice and fluffy.

I also use a pressure steamer which does it in about 4 minutes.
Click to expand...

How long do you normally rinse before the water runs clear and what container do you cook it with in the microwave?
 
Merlin5 said:
Thanks for the suggestions guys, it seems 2 parts water to 1 part rice is the key.

tom_e, I might buy that microwave steamer. How long does it take to cook and is there any chance of it melting like some reviewers said?



How long do you normally rinse before the water runs clear and what container do you cook it with in the microwave?
Click to expand...

About 2 minutes, I put the rice in a sieve and tasty in a bowl so I can stir the rice to clean it faster.
Glass bowl with a plate on top as a lid.
 
I'm sure I've got it written down somewhere I'll try and remember to have a look when I get home, I do remember it being a bit longer than they state though.
 
Wash and rinse the basmati a few times until the water is fairly clear.
Leave it to soak (wash it in the morning and cook it in the evening) with a good helping of salt in the water. / Leave to soak overnight/24hrs.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, drain the water from the rice then put it in the boiling water and cook until it is starting to go tender.
Soft on the edges but still hard in the centre.

Remove from the water and drain in a large (but fine) sieve. Meanwhile empty the saucepan of water and give it a quick wipe down.

Add a little oil to the saucepan* and put it back on a low heat, then start spooning the rice little by little into the pan trying to get as much air in as possible.
Trick here is to kind of 'drizzle' it in, using a large spatula - there is a special kitchen tool for this in Iran.

When all the rice is added it should be like a mound in the middle. Poke 5-6 holes in the rice with the handle of a wooden spoon and then pour over 1-2 cup(s) of warm water with a little warmed oil in.

Put a tight fitting lid on, preferably with a tea-towel or cloth to absorb the moisture. Leave it to steam until cooked. Gives perfectly separated rice from the pan and you should end up with a thin layer of cripsy rice at the bottom too.

(* here is an option to add bread, yoghurt, sliced potato too)

Rice Persian style is best rice. ;)

You then have options after you cook it to add some disolved saffron and make the yellow rice you'd often see in pictures.
 
I've found that cheaper basmati rice always goes soggy/sticky. We just buy Tilda now. Always cook in a saucepan.

The first trick is to not use 1:2 rice/water ratio, it should be 1:1.5 parts rice to water. Everywhere says 1:2, everywhere is wrong!

Bring it to the boil, turn it right down and put the lid on. Leave for about 7-8mins until the water has disappeared. We have a transparent lid so just give it a shake and look. I've never understood the fascination with leaving the rice alone. Shaking the pan, stirring etc seems to have no effect :confused:

Besides the 1:1.5 ratio, the other massive trick is to leave the rice covered with a tea towel (tea towel, then lid on top) for 10mins or so, once it's cooked. It won't go cold, the longer the better. The tea towel sucks up all the remaining moisture. This is absolutely critical. We call it "resting" the rice, which is not 100% true but hey. For example if we're cooking a thai curry (midweek mainstay in our house) we'd practically put the rice on as soon as we start cooking the curry. Cook rice for 7-8mins, leave to rest for 10mins or longer. Much, much, much better results than dishing up the rice as soon as it's ready.
 
basmaatii, i remember i had it in an Indian restaurant.. and once in pakistani restaurant it was delicious and the fish curry along with that was super juicy and tasty, but just a bit spicy!:p
 
I find it works best when your 2:1 ratio is volume rather than weight. Although each type of rice is different, even different basmati rice.

Best to err on the side of caution and use less water. You can always add more, but you can't de-overcook it!

Also, leave it in the pot with the lid on for 2 or 3 minutes after it cooks dry, and the steam will continue to cook it.
 
Scam said:
I've found that cheaper basmati rice always goes soggy/sticky. We just buy Tilda now. Always cook in a saucepan.

.
Click to expand...
This is what i have found also, as well as it always tasting rubbish compared to the better stuff.

Tilda is good, but very expensive. If you have a look in the foreign food section you can buy big 5-10kg bags of rice and its as good as Tilda, but works out around the same price per kg as the cheap stuff. Kohinoor is good and works out around £1.60 a kg, wheras Tilda is like £5+ a kg.


I sometimes make pilau rice by adding half a finely chopped onion, fried until its translucent, then add some cloves, green cardamom pods split, a bay leaf, cinnamon bark, and some ground cumin. Flavour the oil with the spices for 30 seconds or so before adding the drained rice and giving it a good stir into the oil, spice and onions. Then add the water and cook the rice as you normally would. Goes great with curry.
 
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I probably do 1 part rice to 4 or more parts water. The more water the better tbh.

Bring the water to the boil
Rinse the rice in fresh water
Put rice in boiling water & turn down the heat to where I know it'll have a rolling simmer (that helps to keep the grain separated but avoids stirring)
Simmer for 10mins
There should be plenty of water left when the rice is done, otherwise the rice just gets coated with the thick starchy water and end up sticky
Drain in a sieve and return to the hot pan
Cover and leave for a few mins to fluff up
 
Tlida rice. other brands can be good but i'm no expert and Tilda is very dependable. Just don't buy 1-2kg bags from the supermarket unless they are on super-special offer as they charge a fortune. Better to find an asian grocer.

1 cup of rice for 2 people.
wash gently 3 times
leave to soak for 30mins
drain in a sieve.
1.25 cups of boiling water into pan
when water is boiling, add rice
[optionally , add a small piece of butter or ghee if you want]
stir gently
it took me 20 years to realise that you (well I) don't really need salt in rice, esp with spicy food. (and I absolutely cannot eat potatoes or pasta without the correct amount of salt). try it.
when back on the boil, airtight lid on (my lid has a hole in it which I block with tin foil). You need to keep all the moisture in.
turn low for a gentle simmer for 3mins, max 3m:30s
turn off and leave lid on without touching it.
leave for at least 6 mins
gentle fluff rice with a fork and serve
(always be gentle with your rice and use metal, not wooden implements which can bash up the rice)
for Pilau rice, add ghee to the pan first, add pilau spice mix, stir for a min, add rice to coat, stir and add boiling water.
 
bsoltan said:
Wash and rinse the basmati a few times until the water is fairly clear.
Leave it to soak (wash it in the morning and cook it in the evening) with a good helping of salt in the water. / Leave to soak overnight/24hrs.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, drain the water from the rice then put it in the boiling water and cook until it is starting to go tender.
Soft on the edges but still hard in the centre.

Remove from the water and drain in a large (but fine) sieve. Meanwhile empty the saucepan of water and give it a quick wipe down.

Add a little oil to the saucepan* and put it back on a low heat, then start spooning the rice little by little into the pan trying to get as much air in as possible.
Trick here is to kind of 'drizzle' it in, using a large spatula - there is a special kitchen tool for this in Iran.

When all the rice is added it should be like a mound in the middle. Poke 5-6 holes in the rice with the handle of a wooden spoon and then pour over 1-2 cup(s) of warm water with a little warmed oil in.

Put a tight fitting lid on, preferably with a tea-towel or cloth to absorb the moisture. Leave it to steam until cooked. Gives perfectly separated rice from the pan and you should end up with a thin layer of cripsy rice at the bottom too.

(* here is an option to add bread, yoghurt, sliced potato too)

Rice Persian style is best rice. ;)

You then have options after you cook it to add some disolved saffron and make the yellow rice you'd often see in pictures.
Click to expand...
Was going to post the same. Now I have no need.

The only negative to this (and why most in this thread won't do it) is because it takes a couple of hours to do. :p

On the positive side do an entire pressure cookers worth and then reheat it in the microwave when needed.
 
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