I love the taste of curry, but my stomach does not have the same appreciation and neither do some of my family members. This rice is a fantastic compromise!!! It has the light taste of a curry, but the creaminess of the coconut milk and savory flavor of the onion and garlic give this rice a great balance and full flavor. It was the perfect accompaniment to the Hummus Crusted Chicken with vegetables that I blogged about yesterday. If you’re looking for a dinner with Middle Eastern/Indian flair, this is a perfect choice! It wasn’t too difficult to make, but was impressive enough for company!
I cannot however take the credit for this rice recipe. This delicious recipe came from a fellow WordPress blogger, Cooking with Dexter. The original recipe can be found at https://dexterbritto.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/coconut-yellow-rice/. I altered the recipe a bit based on what I had available.
Tip: After cooking, I tried to pick out the bay leaf, cloves, pepper corns and cinnamon sticks. If you can’t get them all, warn your diners to keep an eye out. Getting a bite of one of these items can really be overpowering.
Coconut Yellow Rice
2 Cups Basmati or Jasmine Rice
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 Can (425ml) Coconut Milk
4 Tbsp. Ghee or Clarified Butter (I used olive oil)
2.5 Cups Hot water
Seasoning:
1/2 medium onion-minced fine
2 cloves Garlic – minced fine or pressed
2 sticks Cinnamon
6 cloves
6 Pepper Corns
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tsp cardamom
3 tbsp. fresh desiccated coconut (Optional. I didn’t have this, so didn’t include it.0
¾ tsp salt
Method:
Wash the rice a few times and drain. Heat a vessel or deep pan. Add 2.5 tbsp. of ghee/oil and when hot add the cinnamon, cloves, pepper corns, bay leaf and cardamom. Fry for half a minute. Add the turmeric powder and rice. Fry slightly. Add the desiccated coconut and fry for some more time (a minute).
Add the coconut milk, Hot water and salt. Mix well, close with lid and cook on low heat. Check a couple of times if water is dry or rice is touching the bottom of vessel. Add more hot water if required. When ¾ cooked add the remaining Ghee or Clarified butter and mix well. After 5 minutes check if the water has evaporated and rice is dry. Fluff the rice lightly with a fork if required. Serve.
Inside Kel's Kitchen 