Indian fragrant ghee rice(nei choru).
Rich and fragrant Ghee rice. Cooked in nutty-flavoured ghee to give a buttery texture and infused with aromatic spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mace, and star anise, this is a platter of warm rice you will not be able to resist.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
- Garnishing ingredients.
- 4 tbsp ghee, also known as clarified butter.
- 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of cashew nuts(optional to garnish).
- 1/2 a cup of raisins
- 2 large onions sliced fine.
- 2 inch piece cinnamon
- 4 clove 4 cloves
- 5 cardamoms slightly bruised
- 1 Bay leaf.
- 1 star anise
- 2 thin strips of mace
- Ingredients to cook the ghee rice.
- 2 Basmati rice or 2 cups of medium grain rice(keeri samba).
- 3 and 1/4 cups of water for regular samba rice.
- Salt to season.
Instructions
- 1
Gather all ingredients needed.
- 2
Slice the onions and set them aside.
- 3
Keeri samba.
- 4
Rinse the rice a few times, drain and set aside.
- 5
Basmati rice.
- 6
If using Basmati, rinse the rice thoroughly, then soak the long grains in water for 15 minutes or as directed on the package.
- 7
Drain and set aside once the soaking is done.
- 8
Place a frying pan over low to medium heat and add ghee to it. Let the ghee melt for a few seconds.
- 9
Separately, shallow-fry the cashews until golden(optional) and raisins until they become plump for a few minutes.
- 10
Transfer to a paper towel-covered bowl.
- 11
Add the sliced onions with a few more ghee spoons if required, and fry them till they are crispy and turn golden brown.
- 12
Transfer to a separate bowl covered with paper towels.
- 13
Place the large pan over medium heat and transfer any leftover ghee from the frying process of the garnishes and onions to this pan.
- 14
Add the whole spices and gently cook them over low heat until they release their aroma; this should take no more than 2-3 minutes.
- 15
Make sure not to burn them.
- 16
Add two tablespoons of fried onions to the whole spices.
- 17
Add the washed and soaked basmati rice.
- 18
Combine rice over low heat with all the ingredients in the pan for 3-5 minutes.
- 19
Add water(the amount of water for regular rice and basmati rice given on the ingredient list)or use the amount of water mentioned on the packaging.
- 20
Season with salt, cover with a lid and use medium heat to cook the rice until the water is absorbed.
- 21
Check the rice once the water is absorbed.
- 22
If the rice is still hard(usually in the middle)and needs to cook for a few minutes, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and continue to cook till the water evaporates.
- 23
Once the rice is cooked, remove the pan from the fire(or the rice will continue to cook)and fluff the rice with a fork.
- 24
Allow the rice to rest for 5 minutes without covering it.
- 25
Transfer rice to the serving dish and garnish with the leftover onions and raisins, and cashews.