Indian Rice and a modern Rice Pilaf

Indian Rice

from Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World pg 126
for use at the February 2013 Cooks Guild Meeting, subject Dried Legumes and Things Preserved for
Winter
Rinse the rice in boiling water and cook it immediately in a copper pot [dast]. The quantity of water
must be equal to two and a half times that of the rice. Once it has absorbed all the water, add samn.
Cover it and cook it for an hour. In this way it will become mufalfal; that is, the grains of rice do not
stick together. Add some powdered sugar and remove [the pot] from the fire. The secret of cooking rice well lies in not rinsing it until the very moment of cooking.

I tried to do this recipe the way it was stated but although the grains did have some separation they did still stick together. I then looked up in a modern cook book how to make rice pilaf (the word pilaf
comes from a Persian word meaning “rice dish”. To make a pilaf the rice is not rinsed unless it looks
like it needs it. It is then fried in fat before adding water and cooking. I find sometimes in medieval
recipes the steps are mixed up in the order they are listed. When I make this dish again this is the way I will do it:

1 cup brown basmati rice or other long grain brown rice
2 ½ cups water
½ to 1 tsp salt
½ cup to 1 cup more water if needed
¼ cup samn (ghee is the modern name for it, it is butter which is clarified and then allowed to cook
slightly longer until the moisture is cooked out and it gets a nutty flavor)
2 TBSP sugar (granulated is fine, when medieval recipes call for powdered they mean a fine grind,
modern powdered sugar has corn starch added to it which is not period)

Put the ¼ cup ghee into a wide bottomed oven safe pan and fry the rice at medium heat until slightly
browned and gives off a slightly nutty flavor. Add the salt and 2 ½ cups of water and cover. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the rice at medium to medium low heat for 40 to 60 minutes until done (check at about 30 to 40 minutes and add the extra water if needed then replace the lid. As soon as the rice is done stir in the sugar and cover with a damp (but not wet) cloth. Replace the lid and fold up the corners of the cloth over the lid and place in the preheated oven (towel and all) for 15 minutes. When that time is up fluff with a fork and serve.

It may seem like a strange procedure to cook rice but let me explain why you do it this way. You fry the rice first because it changes the outside structure of the rice so that it won't stick together, I'm also told it cooks faster after frying it. After cooking it you put a damp towel between the pot and the lid and bake it to help set the rice and the towel changes the drip pattern in the pot. You wet the towel before putting it in the oven so it won't catch on fire. Rice cooked following this procedure does not stick together and is mulfalfal or a pilaf. Below is a picture of how the rice turned out being cooked when I didn't understand the procedure.

When I was done making the Indian Rice and had read the correct way to make a pilaf I wanted to try it again, this time making a rice dish without dairy since one of the people coming has dairy issues. This is the recipe I made up:

2 TBSP minced garlic

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup basmati rice

1 tsp kosher salt

2 ½ cups warm water with 10 to 12 strands of saffron broken into it

¼ cup golden raisins (sultanas)

1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped cilantro

Fry the garlic in the olive oil at medium heat until fragrant and slightly browned. Add the rice and fry

until slightly browned and smells nutty. Add the salt and water with saffron, stir and put the lid on and cook on medium to medium-low heat for 40 to 60 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. When the water has been absorbed add ½ cup to 1 cup

more hot water, the raisins and chopped herbs and stir. Cover with a damp towel and replace the lid.

Fold the corners of the towel over the lid and place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, fluff with a fork and serve. In the pictures you can see the difference in how the rice looks in following the procedure correctly and not quite doing it right (although they both tasted good.)