coconut rice.
Coconut rice is an easy-to-make Asian rice recipe for any special occasion. Compliment all your favourite side dishes with this fragrant rice dish from simple vegetarian, poultry, meat and seafood curries to baked dishes.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil/ ghee
- Handful of curry leaves
- A large piece of pandan leaf knotted or cut in two
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cardamom pods slightly bruised
- 2 ″ cinnamon piece
- 3 clove 3 cloves
- 1 tsp minced ginger(about 1″ piece minced)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic(about 3 cloves)
- 1 tsp cumin seed
- 1/8 tsp turmeric(a pinch, only to add some color which you can opt out of)
- 2 cup basmati rice washed and soaked ONLY for 10 minutes
- 2 cup water
- 1 and 1/2 cup coconut milk(make this by adding 1/2 a cup of water to 1 cup of coconut milk)
- Salt to season
Instructions
- 1
Wash and rinse the rice until water is clear, this should take about four rinses.
- 2
Submerge rice completely with water and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
- 3
How to temper ingredients for the coconut rice.
- 4
Place a frying pan over medium heat, and pour in the oil, you can substitute with ghee, and let the oil warm for a few seconds.
- 5
Add the curry leaves, pandan, bay leaf, ginger-garlic, turmeric(optional), cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and cumin seeds.
- 6
Cook over low-medium heat for 3-5 minutes over medium heat while frequently stirring the ingredients until the aromas are released. set aside.
- 7
(refer to FAQ for spices you can opt out of to make the rice).
- 8
How to cook the coconut rice.
- 9
Drain the soaking water from the rice and add the rice to the cooking pan.
- 10
Add the recommended amount of water followed by the amount of coconut milk.
- 11
Use a spoon to swirl the water and coconut milk with the rice.
- 12
Season with salt.
- 13
Add the tempered ingredients with the oil(or ghee)to the rice.
- 14
Place the pan over the stove and cook the rice over low-medium heat until the water reduces and the coconut milk is absorbed by the rice.
- 15
Once all the liquid is cooked through you’ll notice tiny holes appearing on the surface of the rice, this is your visual indication that the coconut rice is almost cooked through.
- 16
Reduce heat to low and use a fork to gently run through the rice. try not to break the rice grains, at this point you are just making sure that the rice grains are not going to stick to the pan.
- 17
Further reduce heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes to remove the last bit of wet moisture.
- 18
Check for doneness after 5 minutes.\
- 19
Remove from the stove, and remove the lid from the pan. let it sit for a few minutes and then use a fork to fluff the rice.
- 20
Keep in mind that the remaining heat will continue to cook the rice.
- 21
I like to transfer the rice to a large wide platter so the rice in the bottom cooks evenly and doesn’t turn too soft with the remaining heat.
- 22
Avoid covering for at least 10-12 minutes.
- 23
Garnish with chopped coriander or parsley. You can also garnish with some toasted cashews, almond flakes or coconut.
- 24
Serve warm with any of the side dish options given above.