This Easy Basmati Rice Recipe is a Vegetarian summer recipe full of flavor and delicacy. It is a cold rice salad that we can enjoy for lunch, dinner, family, work, or picnic.
Basmati rice is Indian rice with a long thin stalk, fragrant, and with a delicate taste.
You can cook this rice separately and use it as a side dish or other recipes. It also can cook in pilaf or chicken recipes, which combines best with this type of rice.
We cooked this rice salad with seasonal vegetables, which we have cooked in the pan. You can also choose to steam or bake them if you prefer to experiment and respect your tastes and way of cooking.
For better cooking of Basmat rice, you must know a few things to follow. I will explain in the following.
How to cook Basmati Rice?
- For starters, this type of rice must rinse well as it contains a lot of starch, and rinsed it will result in a cleaner grain.
- After rinsing it 3-4 times in running water, the next step is to place the Basmati rice for at least 30 minutes to rest in cold water. This way, the rice will cook properly. Also, its delicate grain will not crumble and break after cooking but will retain its shape as it is without cooking.
- Boil the rice in boiling salty water in the ratio of 1 rice and 1.5 water. It is the case when we boil it separately without mixing it with any other ingredients. Otherwise, we will use the 1: 2 ratio as with other rice.
- After throwing the Basmati rice in boiling salted water, we will leave it for 2-3 minutes with the lid covered to reach a good boil. Then, lower the cooking temperature, and at low temperature, let it cook for another 12 minutes.
- Do not open the lid so that the steam stays in the cooking pot and the rice manages to cook within 15 minutes with the amount of water used.
- When the rice is ready, let it rest a bit. Melt it with a fork. Add olive oil or a little butter and use it for our cold salad recipe.
You can try our Primavera Recipe.
Ingredients
- 250 g of Basmati rice
- 375 ml of water
- 1 green onion or a small onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 carrot
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 1 zucchini
- 1 eggplant
- 50 g of peas
- salt, pepper, olive oil, mint, oregano, or thyme
Directions
- Rinse the rice well, as we explained above. Cook it in a non-sticky and thick bottom pot with the lid closed.
- Pour the water, let it boil, add salt, and less the washed rice, which we leave to cook with the lid covered for 12-15 minutes.
- Clean, peel, and dice the veggies finely.
- Separately in a pan, add the olive oil, finely chopped onion, and garlic and let them cook for 3-4 minutes with the lid covered until they change color.
- Continue the cooking by adding all the vegetables to the pan. Season them with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes with the lid.
- When the vegetables are ready, remove them from the heat and let them cool.
- While the rice is ready, we will mix it with a fork and add a few tablespoons of olive oil, which tastes great.
- Mix the rice with the vegetables, add the finely chopped or dried spices as desired.
- Serve it as a cold salad or unique dish for a light meal or to take with you to work. If you like to enjoy this combination warm, you can mix the rice and vegetables still warm and serve it immediately as desired.
Bon Appetit!