To Boil Rice for Mullagatawny Soups, or for Curries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rice
Remove any unhusked grains from the rice.
Wash the rice in two or three changes of water.
Boil
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 and grains are distinct.
Drain and finish
Drain the rice in a colander for 10 minutes near the fire.
If the rice is not dry, transfer it to a dish and place it in a gentle oven or steam it in a clean saucepan near the fire.
Do not stir the rice after the initial mixing to prevent lumping.
Occasionally shake the pot if needed.
Lightly transfer the rice from the colander to the dish.
Add salt a couple of minutes before the rice is done.
Remove any scum that rises while boiling.
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 from the grains sets the texture, and separate, tender grains depend on gentle boiling and draining.
The step that matters
Do not stir the rice after the initial mixing. Stirring breaks grains and releases surface starch, which makes the cooked rice gummy and lumpy. Leaving it alone lets the grains stay separate.
“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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