Cumin Rice
aka Jeera Rice
Whenever we host guests, we serve rice along with bread as rice is a symbol of prosperity. And rice is a separate course in Indian cuisine. Given that Indian meals tend to be on the heavy side, by the time I get the rice out, my guests are usually done with dinner. Hence, there is no point doing anything fancy and yet, I don’t really want to serve the plain boiled rice to guests. (What is plain boiled rice? See method 1 here.) So I cheat with cumin rice. Quick and easy to make, and goes with any curry/ lentils.
For 2 people (having this as a main main course)
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 cups of hot water
salt to taste
Method
Heat the ghee/ butter in a pan. When hot, add cumin seeds. When the seeds start dancing in the heat, add rice. Stir. Add salt. Stir. Add water. Stir gently and cover. Keep checking every 2 minutes after 7 minutes. Take off the heat when all the water has evaporated.
Variations
Add some green cardamom powder to the water when you are heating it. This will give the rice a sweet fragrance and taste.
Instead of cumin, try the same recipe with cinnamon sticks.
Instead of cumin, add green garden peas. Add a little extra water as the peas tend to absorb some when cooking.