Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Author:Madhur Jaffrey [Jaffrey, Madhur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-81612-2
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2014-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

For the optional saffron mixture

1 sugar cube

1 teaspoon saffron threads

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons boiling water

2 cups basmati rice, picked over, washed, and drained

Salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large boiling potato or 2 medium ones

Put the sugar cube into a small mortar. Put the saffron threads on top of it. Using the pestle, crush the 2 ingredients into as fine a powder as possible. Empty into a small cup. Add the melted butter and the boiling water. Set aside for 3 hours.

Soak the rice for 30 minutes in lukewarm water that covers it generously. Drain.

Put 10 cups of water into a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Add 1½ tablespoons salt and mix in. Scatter the rice into the boiling water and bring to a boil again. Boil rapidly for 5½ minutes, or until the rice is almost done but still has a very slim hard core in its very center. (The way to test this is by removing a grain and pressing it between the fingers.) Drain the rice immediately and leave in a sieve or colander.

Put the butter in a nonstick pan (see recipe introduction) and set it over low heat. Add 2 tablespoons of water plus a teaspoon of the saffron mixture. Peel the potato and cut it crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick rounds. Lay a round in the center of the pan. Surround it with the other rounds until you have no more space left. You can cut some of the rounds if needed to almost cover the bottom. A few blank spaces are fine. As soon as all the butter has melted, empty the rice over the potatoes. Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium-high. After 4 minutes, turn the heat down to medium-low. After another 4 minutes, lift the cover and quickly dribble the remaining saffron mixture over the rice. Drape a dish towel over the underside of the lid and then put it back on the pan. (The towel will be between the pan and the lid.) Flip the ends of the towel on top of the lid so they do not burn. Turn the heat down to very low and cook for 25 minutes.

To serve, have a large warm serving plate ready. Remove the cover and slide a knife along the inside of the pan to loosen the rice. Put the serving plate on top of the pan of rice. Now upturn it and invert its contents, rice and crust, onto the serving plate. The “cake” will crumble a little, spreading out at the bottom, but this is as it should be. Serve immediately. Cut the crust as you serve.

Alternatively, empty just the rice into the serving plate, scooping it out gently with a slotted spoon. Now remove the crust from the pan and, with a knife or a pair of kitchen scissors, cut it into even wedges. You may arrange the wedges, crusty browned side up, around the rice or put them on a separate plate.

SERVES 4 TO 5

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