Back to the Basics: How to Cook Rice?

Rice and me- we go a long way. I have been eating rice for over forty years now. I have been cooking rice, feeding it to my family and friends, even some random strangers, over the span of twenty something years. I have blindly followed the cooking method that my elders used. My grandma used to scoop out rice from a big aluminum container into a stainless steel tray or a plate. Then she would go the brightest spot in the house, or out in the yard in sunshine, sit on the floor or ground, and begin to pick out things from the rice. Those things were pebbles. Some white, some black, some very tiny ones that only the keenest of eyes could detect, and some in-your-face kinda pebbles. Also living creatures. Sometimes tiny black colored insects, and some other times tiny green or white colored worms. She'd casually pick them all out, and throw them. Yeah, just like that! After that tedious preliminary round, she would transfer the rice into a pot, and pour water into it. Then she'd swish the rice around in the water with the help of her fingers, and once the water turned cloudy, she'd drain off the water, only to pour more water into the rice, and repeat the washing process, until finally the water turned clear. Finally she would place the pot into a pressure cooker, and after three 'whistles' from the cooker, rice was ready to be eaten. As years went by, things started improving, and they started putting fewer pebbles into rice. I saw my mom bypass the preliminary step of pebble picking from the rice. She'd still wash the rice several times before cooking it though. And then, when I became the cook, I pretty much did the same, except with a few modifications- I used an automatic rice cooker, and I washed the rice only a couple to maybe three or four times before plugging the rice cooker in and letting it do it's thing. Now sometimes, in case of brown rice, forbidden rice, etc., I simply followed package instructions and completely omitted the washing step. I mean that's what the instructions said! The instructions didn't mention any rinsing or washing, or anything. The rice turned out pretty tasty, the way it should. No questions asked.

UNTIL ...

Last year or something, while swiping through the news app on my phone, I saw an article about rice. And that rice contains arsenic. Arsenic is a toxic element found naturally in air, water, and soil. It can cause different forms of cancer, and heart disease. And guess what? Food crops love to absorb this wonderful arsenic, and rice in particular, tends to absorb a lot more. The article suggested that we wash rice at least eight to ten times before cooking it. Okay, so I started doing that.

UNTIL ...

Yesterday while trying to answer a question on Quora I went on the FDA website, and found out that I have been doing it all wrong. Not to forget, I am a medical miracle!

Per FDA, when we rinse or wash rice, we are basically stripping it off of all the good stuff- iron, thiamin, niacin, and folate, while retaining the arsenic. So in order to get rid of arsenic by as much as possible, the suggested way of cooking rice is to cook it like pasta: Cook 1 part rice in 6 to 10 parts water, and drain off excess water.  Granted that this will take a little more effort on your part, but this will at least ensure that you aren't consuming more arsenic than you already have (!!) and aren't feeding it to your loved ones. For your not-so-loved-ones it's okay to resort to the rice cooker technique. ;)

So last night, dear friends, I thought I spent more time in front of the stove, cooking rice the pasta way. But in reality, it took only 10-12 minutes for the rice to cook once the water started boiling. Once cooked, I simply used a sieve to separate out cooked rice from the water. And I dumped the water down the drain. The result was some yummy rice, not sticky at all, and much whiter in color than it normally looks.

Non-toxic rice ;) 

And that's how you cook rice.

Do check out the article on FDA:  Arsenic in Rice and Rice Products

Easy Paella

Here's an easy recipe for Paella that you can whip up on any weeknight. But first things first- the rice, saffron and the pan. These are of utmost importance, especially the rice and saffron.

*The rice must be short grained and be able to absorb as much flavor as possible and not become creamy and mushy in the end. The kind that works really well is Arroz "Calasparra" from Spain (you can order it online from amazon).

*Saffron is the exotic spice that has a very interesting flavor profile, is not as overpowering as turmeric, and a little goes a long way.

*And then the pan- well, I am not sure that a paella pan is a *must* (I mean, for that matter, you should be cooking your paella on open fire outside, not on the stove in your kitchen!). However, if you intend to make paella often, and believe in presentation, that do invest in a decent paella pan.

As for me, I got lucky- my dear bro and sister in law gifted me with a nice paella pan as well as the rice! ;)

The Rice

Arroz Calasparra 

Paella Pan 

Yield: 2 adults, 2 inconsistent teenagers

Time: < 1 hour (prep time+cooking time)

This recipe incorporates salmon and shrimp. Other seafood such as clams, calamari, etc work well too. Vegetables such as peas, carrots, green beans will be good as well. 

Ingredients: 

1. Calasparra Rice: 2 cups 

2. Broth (of your choice): 4 cups (and 1/2 cup extra just in case)

3. Tomatoes rough chopped: 2-3 cups (OR 3-4 tbs tomato paste)

4. Saffron: 10-12 strands

5. Garlic minced: 2 tsp

6. Salt to taste

7. Freshly ground pepper: 1/2-1 tsp (or more if you like pepper!)

8. Crushed red pepper or paprika for kick: 1-2 tsp (adjust to taste)

9. Cooking oil: 3 tbs

10. Oregano: a pinch (italian seasoning will work just fine)

11. Salmon (boneless skinless) cut into 2 inch pieces- approx. 2 pieces per person 

12. Shrimp (raw, peeled, deveined, tail on): a couple handfuls so everyone gets enough

Method:

1. Pour oil into your paella pan, get the heat going. Add oregano (or italian seasoning), minced garlic, tomatoes and fry for a couple minutes. Then add the rice (tip: soak the rice in water for 10 minutes prior to cooking for faster cooking) and stir for 2-3 minutes. 

2. Now add broth, pepper, paprika/crushed red pepper, salt to taste, and saffron and bring it to a boil. Then lower the flame, and continue cooking, without covering the pan for 15 minutes. Do not stir. The rice should have softened a bit at the end of 15 minutes. 

3. Now gently fold in the salmon and shrimp. You might have to add 1/2 cup broth at this point if you think that the rice needs some more cooking. Don't worry, it won't get mushy! Let it all cook for another 7-10 minutes, until the liquid is all absorbed and the shrimp is pink. Cover until ready to be served. 

Garnish with fresh parsley, zing it up with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Pair it up with some Spanish wine and enjoy! 

  

Paella- mm mm! 

Delicious! 

Tomato "bhath" Rice

When we visited my s-i-l and bro this summer (you probably know that by now!), I got to have the BEST tomato "bhath" I have ever had, thanks to my s-i-l. It was red, tangy, spicy, and just had this amazing punch to it- one spoonful into my mouth, and my taste buds went wild! It was SO delicious!

I have completely fallen head over heels in love with this dish. I could eat it everyday, no kidding! The best thing about this dish is that it is extremely easy and quick to make.

Note: Bhath stands for Rice.

Ingredients:

For 2 cups cooked rice:

1. Tomatoes- 3-4 medium size. The better the quality of tomatoes, the better your dish is going to taste.

2. Garlic- 7-8. I say- the more, the better! ;)

3. Cloves- 4-5 whole. This is a key ingredient, that imparts the whole punch factor to the dish.

4. Cooked rice- 2 cups (leftover rice works just fine). I have used only white rice so far. Not sure how it would taste if you use brown rice, but you can certainly give it a try.

5. Salt per taste

6. For heat- either green or red chilies, OR red chili powder. The quantity is per your liking.

7. Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp (can also add 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds, a pinch of turmeric powder)

8. Cooking oil- 1-1.5 tbs

Method:

1. Cook rice as you would normally (shouldn't be mushy/sticky).

2. Blend the tomatoes, green/red chilies, garlic, and cloves into a nice smooth consistency.

3. Pour in some oil into your pan, and get the heat going. Splutter mustard seeds (and cumin seeds), and pour in the blended tomato+garlic+chilies+cloves paste into this, and immediately start stirring.

Caution: Contents might start fuming up, and splatter.... be careful not to get it on your face!

4. Continue stirring on medium to high flame. I like to draw 8s while stirring- I think it aids in faster evaporation of water.... and, err, cuts down the boredom! About 6-10 minutes later, the water will have evaporated, and the mixture will be of a thicker consistency.

5. Now add salt per taste, extra red chili powder if you like, a pinch of turmeric powder. Sometimes I also add a pinch of garam masala powder. Then add cooked rice (should not be too hot, else it will get all mushed up when mixing) and combine everything together. Another couple minutes over the flame, and it is ready to be served.

Tomato bhath ready! 

6. I like to serve tomato bhath with a simple onion raita (I prefer red onion). If it is for a party, I garnish with fried cashew nuts or peanuts, and fresh cilantro. The nuts add a good crunch to the already mouthwatering dish.

Mm mm gooooood! *Slurrrrp* 

Gotta thank my s-i-l for teaching me this dish that has become the love of my life! Hey, a sentiment is a sentiment, is a sentiment!!

When in doubt...........

.........make some Pilaf!

I must admit that even though I love to cook, honestly, it gets to a point where I go, "OK, what the heck should I cook tonight?" This especially happens on a Wednesday. After thinking for about a couple minutes, I got the bright idea of whipping up some easy pilaf with veggies and nutrela, i.e. soy nuggets. Now I know that my husband simply hates this stuff and I bet a lot of vegetarians as well as meat-eaters hate soy and frankly speaking, I do not understand their hatred for soy! Well OK, I sorta understand--- to a staunch vegetarian, it probably looks like meat and to a meat-eater, it probably is not real meat..........hence the hatred for soy. But really, it is not that bad. In fact my brother and I have loved nutrela since childhood. To my joy, my kids quite like it too! That's always a plus point!

So once again, I opened the fridge. Took out a couple carrots, half a green bell pepper, some tomato, even some eggplant--- basically whatever vegetable I caught hold of! Chopped them up. Oh I did slice a medium onion and minced 3 cloves of garlic. Also grated an inch of fresh ginger. Now a days I don't peel ginger- just wash it well and leave the skin on. It just imparts a better flavor, I think. Washed a couple cups of rice. Any kind of rice will be fine, really. Meanwhile prepared the soy nuggets by soaking a handful in hot water and then squeezing out the water. Then started with the pilaf preparation. Put 4-5 teaspoons of oil into the cooker, heated, put in some cardamom (the big black kind) and cumin and put in the onions, garlic and ginger. Sauteed a little bit and threw in the rest of the veggies. Decided to exclude the bell pepper and eggplant (to my husband and kids' relief!). Stirred everything and then added the washed rice as well as the soy nuggets. Added salt, red chilli powder and a wee bit of garam masala (the famous Indian curry powder). I put in a tablespoon of tomato paste as well--- I just love tomatoes- I can put tomatoes into pretty much everything! Finally added water and closed the cooker lid. Cooked for 3 minutes- that is how long my cooker takes. Allowed the cooker to cool. Once all the steam was gone, opened the lid and threw in a cup of frozen peas. I love frozen peas since you don't really have to "cook" them. They become nice and tender if you just put them into something hot, like in this case, the pilaf.

In the end, I took a teaspoon of coriander seeds in a microwave-safe bowl and popped it into the m-wave for a minute to release the aroma. Then quickly ground it in my coffee-grinder (that I of course use for purposes other than grinding coffee itself!) and sprinkled this powdered coriander on to the pilaf. This kicks up the taste by at least 10 notches, if I may say so!

Finally, garnished with cilantro and finely chopped green onion and voila! another tasty dinner was created!

 Pilaf cooking inside the cooker

Coriander seeds ready to be powdered

The final creation. We had some simple cucumber salad on the side too. Beautiful!