To Boil Rice for Mullagatawnt Soups, or for Curries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rice
Remove the unhusked grains from the rice and wash it in 2-3 changes of water.
Cook
Place the rice in a large pot with cold water and bring it to a gentle boil, uncovered.
Boil the rice softly for 15 minutes until tender, ensuring each grain remains distinct.
Just before finishing, add the salt and remove any scum that rises during boiling.
Do not stir the rice after the initial mixing; shake the pot occasionally if needed.
Drain and dry
Drain the rice in a colander for 10 minutes near the fire.
If the rice is not completely dry, transfer it to a dish and place it in a gentle oven or steam it in a clean saucepan near the fire.
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
- Provides the starch that cooks into the separate, fluffy grains of the dish.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the rice grains so they soften evenly as they cook.
The step that matters
Boil the rice softly and do not stir it. Vigorous boiling or stirring breaks the grains and releases surface starch, making the rice sticky and mushy instead of separate and fluffy.
“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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