Spiced Basmati Rice: Masaledar Basmati

I know, I know. This is my third rice post in a short period of time, but if you want something just a touch fancier than a plain basmati rice, this is a nice, easy recipe.

2 cups basmati rice
water
2 tsp oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
a pinch of salt
2 2/3 cups chicken broth
1/2 green chili, finely chopped optional)

Rinse the rice 5 times. Cover it with twice as much water and leave it to soak for 30 minutes. Then drain it into a strainer and leave it to dry for another 20 minutes.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat (I actually thought to use the leftover vegetable oil!! It was a miracle) and add the onion. Stir for a few minutes until the onion has softened, then add everything else but the chicken stock. Stir the rice grains pretty quickly for 2 minutes to coat them in the spices and oil, but keep them from burning. I added a bit of stock to un-stick the grains when they didn't feel like cooperating, and turned the heat down a little.

Add the chicken stock, bring the pot to a boil, then cover it and reduce the heat to "very, very low" for 25 minutes.

Simple. I'm always worried the bottom of the rice will burn, so I actually turned the heat off the rice a few minutes early, but left the pot sitting on the burner. It worked. I suppose it was a little bit of a rice miracle.

The spices are mild enough that you can still serve this with a highly flavoured or saucy meat or vegetable dish, but it's nice to have the colour and see the extra ground spices. It's also nice to have a bit of variety in your rice-eating. Plain basmati is lovely, but onions, spices and broth are a real treat.

It was perfect with the best dish I ever made - almond poppy seed leg of lamb with figs.