Zeera Rice

Zeera Rice is one of my favourite rice preparation when the talk of the town is an effortless recipe, which is not rich like pulao but not bland like plain rice. And that is where I place my Zeera rice, as a flavourful bridge between my rice and curry.

Although zeera rice can be paired with almost anything of your choice but I prefer zeera rice with kosha mangsho, with a thick layer of liquid fat and ghee on top of it. Yumm...!!!

Heat and melt the ghee.

Add the cumin seeds and caraway seeds and let them sizzle.

Add the mace and saute.

Add the washed and soaked rice and saute them in the ghee until they appear separate from each other.

Add the water and salt. Close the pot and cook for 12-15 minutes on medium flame.

When the rice is cooked drizzle the remaining ghee over the cooked rice.

Zeera Rice

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 cups of fine Basmati rice

1 and ½ cups of water to cook the rice

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp caraway seeds / shah zeera

1 blade of mace

2 green chillies – slit

¼ cup of ghee

Method:

Wash and rinse the rice until clear water runs out.

Soak the washed rice in water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the water and keep the rice aside for 10-12 minutes, so that the water dries off.

Heat the ghee (keeping a tsp aside) in a heavy bottomed dutch oven or dechki.

Add the cumin seeds and the caraway seeds to the ghee and let them sizzle.

Add the mace and green chillies and saute for half a minute.

Add the rice and sauté them in ghee until the rice grains appear separate from each other and well coated with ghee.

Add water to cook the rice.

Add the salt.

Cover the dechki / dutch oven and cook on medium flame for about 15 minutes.

Then switch off the flame and let them sit covered for another 10 minutes.

Open the lid and drizzle the remaining ghee over the cooked rice.

Give the detchki / dutch oven a gentle shake 2-3 times so that the ghee spreads evenly among the rice.

Serve hot with any spicy veg / non-veg curry.