Baked Rice
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2heads garlic, cloves peeled
- 12-14 medium-size shallots, peeled and quartered lengthwise
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2whole sprigs fresh curry leaves, left on stem, or substitute a handful of dry curry leaves
- 2cups basmati rice
- 2teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- ½teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons boiling water for 30 minutes
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
341 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 409 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 425. Put the oil into a sauté pan set over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the garlic cloves, shallots and lemon zest, and cook, tossing occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the garlic is golden brown and soft. Add the sprigs of curry leaves, and cook for approximately 2 minutes more, or until the leaves are starting to crisp.
- Step 2
Pour the garlic and shallots into a large ovenproof baking dish, approximately 10 by 14 inches, and spread the rice over the vegetables in an even layer. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over the rice, and then pour 3½ cups of boiling water over the rice. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil, and place in the oven for 30 minutes or so, until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is light, fluffy and starting to turn crisp around the edges.
- Step 3
Remove the dish from the oven, uncover and drizzle the saffron and its soaking water over the dish. Re-cover the dish with aluminum foil, and allow it to sit on the stovetop for another 5 or 10 minutes, then serve.
Private Notes
Comments
It would be helpful if Times food writers offered substitutes for ingredients like curry leaf that might be hard to find outside a major city. I checked a few food website and here are some suggestions (none is exactly the same): fresh bay leaves (not the dried out ones); lemon balm (use 2/3 as much as curry leaf): lime zest (zest of 1 lime=8 curry leaves); basil plus a little lemon juice. Hope this is helpful.
Hint: For easier clean up, just brown the garlic and onions in a Dutch oven with a lid and load the rice, water and salt into the same pot. Brown rice also works in this recipe. For two cups brown rice you'll need about 4 1/4 cups water and a slightly longer bake time. Everybody loved this rice and it freezes nicely!
Curry leaves are not the same as dried curry powder. Curry powder is a fragrant spice blend of many different herbs and spices.
Curry leaves are the leaves of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii or Bergera koenigii) and have none of the aromatics that you'd be getting in the powder mix.
This is a great recipe! Love a baked rice and this recipe is so good! Didn’t have all the spices listed, but I improvised with turmeric and a shawarma spice blend. This would be great for a dinner party, potluck, or a weeknight dinner. Highly recommend’
Mine got gummy. Maybe the cool time was too long or there was too much water. Thoughts?
I use a few big pinches of herbs de Provence and it's perfect. @LMK