Rice - Easy way to cook Basmati Rice (without employing a Rice Cooker)

It is really easy to cook rice as long as you know the rice to water ratio and you promise yourself to completely avoid the temptation to use a utensil (spoon, spatula and such). The key is to avoid stirring. Stirring  pulls the starch out from the rice grains and you end up with a gooey mess. If you are making risotto on the other hand, you do want to pull the starch, so you would do the exact opposite.

For white Basmati rice, 1 rice : 2 water ratio works well. As you increase rice quantity, slightly reduce the water. For example if you are cooking 3 cups of rice, add 4 Tbsp short of 6 cups of water and if you are cooking 6 cups of rice, add 11 cups of water.

In addition to the initial rice water ratio, you need to add 1/2 to 3/4th cups of water towards the end, to keep the rice moist.

The same technique holds good for Jasmine & Long Grain rice as well. If cooking with Brown rice, 1:3 ratio should be used.

Take 1 cup of rice and place it in a wide heavy bottom stainless steel pan. Non-stick pans do not do a good job. It is good to use a shallow & wide pan rather than a deep & narrow. A wide pan provides more surface area for the steam to gently escape. A narrow pan often creates too much pressure thereby making the steam rush upwards causing spills.

Add 2 cups of water and place the pan on a medium-high flame, cocovered. “Walk away” for 8 - 10 minutes. Do not be tempted to stir the rice at all.

Check to see if most of the water has evaporated, the time taken for this to happen depends upon the thickness of your pan as well as the capacity of your burner. The rice should look like this image. The grains on the top will look dry and a bit under cooked. At this stage, add 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of water, cover, turn the flame to medium-low.

Wait for 5 more minutes. And your rice will be done!

The cooked rice should appear light, fluffy and have an even surface. In case of Basmati rice, each grain will be separate and not stick.

The cooked rice should be consumed soon. It could be refrigerated for a day and can be microwaved with a sprinkle of a few drops of water. Cooked rice does not freeze well.  Also note that if you are using a rice cooker, the ratio remains the same and you do not have to add the extra cup of water towards the finishing stage.

The “small measuring cup” that always comes along with any rice cooker you purchase is not the same as a regular measuring cup of 1 cup capacity. This small cup is used to measure the amount of uncooked rice grains that will actually yield a cup of cooked rice.