LEMON AND CURRY LEAF RICE

According to Ottolenghi:"this will be a revelation to those who tend towards plain steamed basmati. The method is fail-safe and the result is stunning". And stunning it is!! It has amazing flavours and it combines extremely well with many recipes. I will certainly be cooking it again. The problem is that it is so yummy that you tend to eat more than you need.... 😅😜😋! See the Variations at the end of the page to have the recipe using a rice-cooker.

INGREDIENTS

5 short cinnamon sticks (10g)
10 cloves
shaved rind of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 stems of fresh curry leaves (about 25 leaves) or 35 dried curry leaves
400g basmati rice, rinsed 
60g unsalted butter
salt and pepper

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Soak the basmati rice for 15 minutes. Drain well.

Put the cinnamon sticks, cloves, lemon rind, curry leaves, 1 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper in a medium saucepan. Cover with 680ml of water and place on a high heat. 

As soon as the water boils, remove the pan from the heat.

Spread the rice out in an ovenproof dish or roasting tray, approximately 24cm x 30cm, cover with the boiled water and aromatics and stir well. 

Lay a piece of greaseproof paper over the surface of the water and cover the dish with foil.
Cook in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove and leave to sit, covered, for 8-10 minutes.

Just before serving, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once it is melted and very hot, carefully add the lemon juice and swirl together to mix. 

Pour this over the hot rice and fluff it up with a fork. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve at once (you can remove the curry branches and cinnamon sticks or keep for the look).

Serves 4

Serve it as a side dish to meat, poultry or fish. Or if you prefer to have a vegetarian meal, serve it with some Asian savoury pickle or chutney. Here I served it next to Peri peri chicken.

VARIATIONS

Cooking the rice using a rice-cooker

Put all the aromatics in the rice cooker bowl and add the water as per recipe. Put in the saute function and wait until it's starting to boil. 

Add the soaked rice, mix well and change it to rice function. 

And voila... just add the butter and lemon before serving.