Basmati rice has become available to us at relatively
affordable prices. It is surely the rice of choice for most dishes.
My favorite technique is to use an excess of water,
perhaps twice the volume of rice. Bring the water to the simmer, or just
below, and add rice. Simmer very gently until the raw taste is gone, but
the rice remains slightly crunchy. This will take about 10 minutes.
(Keep water at gentle simmer or below. Vigorous boiling will cook the
rice too quickly).
Drain the rice. It can hold for some time. Reheat in
the microwave or warming oven.
Traditional Methods
Various ingenious methods have been developed around
the world to capture the special qualities of basmati rice, especially
when combined with butter. (See books by Roden and Jaffrey in Bookstore.)
For ordinary uses, basmati may be cooked much like we
would long-grain rice. However, less liquid is used, and a very gentle
simmer is required.
Asian and Middle East cookbooks call for rinsing and
presoaking basmati rice. Eva Katz tested this for Cook’s
Illustrated (Jan-Feb 1997), and found that these steps actually made
less fluffy and less flavorful rice. Also, 1 ½ cups of water to 1 cup
of rice seemed to work best for Katz.
Wild Rice
Cook wild rice in an excess of water until some of
the ends burst and produce what look like little flowers. Cook until
somewhat tender to the bite, but still with a crunch. Overcooking will
result in soft wild rice, which defeats its mission to provide
crunchiness.
After cooking marinate with orange juice, if desired.
