COOKING BERYANI RICE

How we cooked our Beryani rice.


The rice we used - Moghul (RM40 for 5 Kg) or Malika( 25 Kg Bag, more expensive). Malika is longer and aromatic.

Wash rice and soak for 20-30 mins . Then strain.

Boil water (2 -3 times volume of rice), with pandan leaves, the four spices, a little blended garlic.

When water boils, remove all spices, pandan leaves. Add salt (garam kasar) until as salty as sea water.

While water is boiling, add the rice, keep stirring with wooden stirrer until rice is half cooked.
This is the difficult part to determine extent of cooked rice. Rice should have expanded by now.

Remove rice with strainer, control the fire. Seperate rice into 2 portions.

Throw the water away. Set fire to small / low.

Put back pot on stove, spread a small amount of ghee at bottom of pot (to prevent sticking).

Put a layer of banana leaves and a spread a bit of ghee on leaves.

Put in 1st portion of rice, add ghee, sprinkle saffron water (colouring if you wish), crushed mint leaves, fried onions, cashew nuts, blended almonds and evaporated milk (Carnation or Ideal).

Put in 2nd portion of rice and repeat as above.

Line the pot with banana leaves (or dough if you wish). Cover pot and put something heavy on top of the lid. KEEP FIRE SMALL to avoid buring the rice. Adjust fire accordingly. There should be enough heat to create steam in the pot. Too low a fire will produce a soggy and uncooked rice.

When steam is seen gushing out of the lid (20 -30 mins), turn off fire after 1 or 2 mins.

Leave pot covered until time to eat.

Variation:

You may wish to add the oil and gravy from your beef or lamb beryani into the rice . Some even add pieces of meat (embedded) in the rice.