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To Boil Rice for Curries

A method for boiling Patna rice to use in curries.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Boil Rice for Curries

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Wash the rice in several waters until the last water is clear.

  2. In a saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add ½ teaspoon of coarse sea salt.

Cook and finish

  1. Add the rice to the boiling water and cook uncovered, stirring frequently for 12 to 15 minutes. Test a grain; it should rub down easily between your fingers.

  2. Strain the rice through a sieve.

  3. To finish cooking, place the rice back in the saucepan by the fire or on a plate in a 350°F (175°C) oven. Stir lightly with a fork occasionally to keep the grains separate.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Patna rice
Starch that softens and swells in boiling water to form the cooked grains.

The step that matters

Testing the grains before straining. Rice keeps absorbing heat and water after it leaves the pot, so pulling it too early leaves it hard, while overcooking makes it mushy. Checking a grain between your fingers helps you judge doneness.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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