Last week I shared a recipe for comedian/actor Aziz Ansari's favorite chicken korma recipe - his mother's. This week I thought I'd post my favorite recipe for making basmati rice, which is a typical korma accompaniment. 

I do not wash the rice prior to cooking, but I do saute it in oil with spices briefly before boiling. 

You can easily double the amounts in this recipe for making larger quantities. 

Ingredients: 

1 Tbs ghee, vegetable, corn or canola oil

1 stick cinnamon - about 3-inches

3 whole cloves

3 whole green cardamom seeds

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups basmati rice

2 1/4 cups water

1 tsp salt


Method: 

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf to the pan and sizzle in the oil for a minute or so. Don't worry if the spices burn a little, they'll be discarded. 


Add the rice and salt to the pan and stir, sauteing for a minute in the oil. 


Pour the water into the pan and bring to a boil. 


Lower the stove to low, cover the pan tightly and simmer the rice for 17 minutes. 


After 17 minutes of cooking, remove the pan from the heat and allow the rice to rest, covered for another 10 minutes. 


The spices will have risen to the top of the rice and can easily be picked out and discarded. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve. 


Photos by Ted Scheffler