Spec me some rice

Tilda basmati rice is very good, but you need to wash it a few times until most of the cloudiness in the water has gone.
 
We always use basmati but I can never get it right. We use the method as above but no matter how much I washe it, it always sticks and it always tastes overcooked. There's no bite to it and there's no separation of grains. It's so frustrating! I've even taken to doing 1:1 ratio of rice:water which helps, but still everything sticks :(

Get one of these
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/10619/Clear-Microwave-Multi-Steamer
 
Interesting. How exactly is it used? I went round my Dad's once and he cooked rice in the microwave. Seemed to chuck it in a bowl (with some water presumably), cover with clingfilm and blast it. Does that work for basmati? Any guides?
 
You can steam it in a pan.

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.

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.

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.

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 oil in.

Put a tight fitting lid on and leave it to steam until. Cooked. Serve from the pan and you should end up with a thin layer of cripsy rice at the bottom too.

Rice Persian style. ;)
 
I usually use Uncle Bens long grain rice. I've always cooked it this way:

Wash 1 cup of rice (Put rice in sieve and run water from the tap over it) and put in a pan.
Add 2 cups cold of water to pan and bring to boil
Put on lid (must be tight fitting) and simmer for 8 mins
Take off heat and leave with lid on for 8-10 min

Do not remove the lid until the rice is ready or it won't come out right. If you use a heavy pan with a tight fitting lid it comes out best. If not - use a tea towel between the pan and the lid (make sure the tea towel is folded up so it doesn't get burned).
 
Interesting. How exactly is it used? I went round my Dad's once and he cooked rice in the microwave. Seemed to chuck it in a bowl (with some water presumably), cover with clingfilm and blast it. Does that work for basmati? Any guides?

Measure rice and water and put them in. Full blast for 5 mins, stir, 5 more minutes. Fluff with a fork :) It comes out nice every time. a £150 rice cooker does a better job but certainly not £140 better, not even £40 better IMO

you can do 'special' vegetable rice in it etc etc
 
Fool proof way is:

You will need:
As wide a saucepan that has a lid as you can (rice needs to move when being cooked, although do not move it yourself!)
White and basmati rice normally takes 10-15 minutes while brown rice can take an additional 10 minutes.

1) Soak rice in warm (not boiling) water for 1/2 hour at least
2) Rinse rice very well under cold water until water goes clear
3) 2 cups of boiling water to 1 cup of rice (I put in 1/2 tbsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp ground cumin/coriander/chilli powder, pinch of salt and pepper)
3) Mix spices in boiling water and then add rice
4) Bring to a gentle simmer and time for 10 minutes from that point (for white rice) and make sure still water
5) Check rice every couple of minutes after this point that there is still water and for tenderness. Tilt pan to see if rice slides, if so then there is still moisture
6) If you haven’t over boiled rice it should be ready by the time the water runs out, if you need to add more water then add 3-4 tbsp boiling water.

IMPORTANT BIT
7) Once rice is cooked, drain rice in pan and leave with LID ON for a few minutes, this way the rice will fluff up.

We never buy rice from takeaway and after a lot of trial and error we have found this to be the most foolproof method.

I also tend to add a bit of soy sauce at point 3 as well as my homemade chicken stock ice cubes to give a bit of flavour.

While that is cooking you could cook an onion, garlic together, then when you're nearly ready to serve add 1/2 a pepper - throw in the rice and mix well and to bring back up to heat.
 
Try some wild rice mixtures, quite nutty and flavourful. Also try Thai jasmine as jonny69 said, I buy mine off the bay £40 for 20kg including postage.
 
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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Badshah-Bas...JB9M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317323230&sr=8-1

Got this for a tenner from amazon about 3-4 months ago or somit. Lasting ages so far and had load of it but still almost all left. Tastes really nice too and smells lovely when u take a whiff in the bag. Shame the taste goes when cooked tho ppl say rice has a smell I have never really noticed any smell cept the curry part.

It usually goes back to a tenner ish delivered (free delivery). So might be worth keeping an eye out for it on hotukdeals which is where i found it.
 
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