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How to make rice more interesting?


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Old 22-04-2008, 21:40
Daisy Bennyboots
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Any ideas? I eat both brown and white basmati and although I like the texture, the taste and colour are pretty boring and bland after a while.

How do you jazz up rice with the minimum of effort, please?
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Old 22-04-2008, 21:59
Scots_Dragon
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Any ideas? I eat both brown and white basmati and although I like the texture, the taste and colour are pretty boring and bland after a while.

How do you jazz up rice with the minimum of effort, please?
Cheap yellow rice, add turmeric to the water when boiling. For the expensive version saffron adds flavour as well as colour. In fact adding any kind of food colouring will colour the rice during boiling, so you could have red, green, blue or yellow rice

Cook the rice in any kind of stock can be good as well.
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Old 22-04-2008, 22:07
Espresso
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Any ideas? I eat both brown and white basmati and although I like the texture, the taste and colour are pretty boring and bland after a while.

How do you jazz up rice with the minimum of effort, please?
Fry an onion in a little oil and then put that in with the rice and water. You could then add frozen peas or beans or mushrooms or spinach or whatever sort of veg you fancy. Frozen spinach is especially good. You get green rice!

Or if you want to go the spicy route, dry fry some spices like nigella, mustard seeds, fenugreek, coriander seeds or whatever you like and then add that mixture to the rice.

Or add a bay leaf and some peppercorns and some minced garlic to the water.
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Old 23-04-2008, 09:48
whoever,hey
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I use the small veg method and is really nice. Not Though spinach though that sound really nice.

For the spice route is also stick a small cinnomon stick in and bay leaf.
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Old 23-04-2008, 09:49
Tinkerbell1
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Fried rice - egg, chicken, vegetable to name a few
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Old 23-04-2008, 09:50
stud u like
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Creamy basmati rice pudding always goes down well. Slip some mango into it and sprinkle pistacchios on the top.
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Old 23-04-2008, 09:52
newkid30
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I add a stock cube to the boiling water, along with a few crushed cardamon pods, half a cinnamon stick a few cloves and a star anaise, it is so fragrant and delicious, highly recommend trying this.
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Old 23-04-2008, 09:56
kimindex
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Onion, peas, mushrooms, soy sauce. Fry onion and mushrooms in garlic and chilli.
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Old 23-04-2008, 10:00
halfacrown
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You could always stir through a sauce and throw in some chopped ham for a quick meal.
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Old 23-04-2008, 10:01
Orangebathwater
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Fry onion in a le crusset, gently fry rice, add real chicken stock to cover and sprig of fresh parsley, bay and thyme, cover and bake for 25 mins.
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Old 23-04-2008, 10:46
dollstar76
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Boil rice with a stock cube then fry with soy sauce and sultanas.
Off topic but it's really nice with stir-fried white cabbage that has been cooked in butter and garlic.
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Old 23-04-2008, 10:50
workshylady
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Stir in cubes of avacado which has been soaked in lime juice. It's very yummy!
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Old 23-04-2008, 11:06
grassmarket
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For quick mexican style rice, finely slice an onion, and a little garlic, add the rice and fry until lightly browned. Puree tinned tomatoes in the blender, and mix 75-25 with water, until you have as much liquid and salt as you would normally use with the rice. Cook on hob for 10 minutes, remove from hob and let stand for 20 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve. Optionally add peas, sweetcorn, chopped coriander, peppers, chopped spring onions or whatever.

Or quick chinese style. Boil the rice as normal, drain and let stand a little. Beat up a couple of eggs as you would for an omelette, cook quickly in a stir fry pan, until they start to solidify, then stir in the rice. Again, add whatever vegetables you wish, along with a few dashes of soy sauce.
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Old 23-04-2008, 11:26
indianwells
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I toast Basmati gently in a dry frying pan with a couple of Bay leaves until it releases it's aroma.
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Old 23-04-2008, 11:53
kimindex
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Boil rice with a stock cube then fry with soy sauce and sultanas.
Off topic but it's really nice with stir-fried white cabbage that has been cooked in butter and garlic.
That sound pretty nice!
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Old 23-04-2008, 15:33
Daisy Bennyboots
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You could always stir through a sauce and throw in some chopped ham for a quick meal.
When I was little in the 70s, my mum's speciality was to serve a mound of cold rice with strips of ham round the outside..and tinned tangerines segments in the middle.

Sounds revolting...but it was lovely.

70's entertaining was the best!!!
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Old 23-04-2008, 15:36
Daisy Bennyboots
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I toast Basmati gently in a dry frying pan with a couple of Bay leaves until it releases it's aroma.
do you do that after it's boiled or before?

Sorry to sound really thick
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Old 23-04-2008, 18:12
JOHNOR
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stick a chicken stock cube in as you put the rice on the boil, it's gorgeous!
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Old 24-04-2008, 08:43
Tinkerbell1
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I like rice with diced peppers and/or mushrooms. Simple but a bit different.
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Old 24-04-2008, 10:55
indianwells
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do you do that after it's boiled or before?

Sorry to sound really thick
I do it before. It enhances the nutty flavour Basmati naturally has.
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Old 24-04-2008, 12:33
kazz59
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I like rice with cucumber, onion and tomato (seeds removed) in a dish mixed together with salad cream (or mayo) and plenty of freshly ground Black pepper.
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Old 24-04-2008, 20:39
CosyShibito
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If I'm feeling too lazy to cook something complicated, I just look around for random stuff like bacon, peas, sweetcorn, prawns, that sort of stuff and cook it in a pan, chuck in some rice, water and a chicken stock cube then just wait for the rice to cook. Put Hoi Sin and Soy sauce in after, sounds rank but it's lovely.
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