Aromatic Baked Rice Recipes

OVEN BAKED RICE AND VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) / 180C/350F (fan / convection).
• Mix Spice Mix in a small bowl.
• Place Rice ingredients in a baking dish (including the carrots), about 23 x 30 cm / 9 x 13". Add 1 1/2 tsp Spice Mix. Stir, cover with foil, bake for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place Roasting Vegetable ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil. Sprinkle over remaining Spice Mix. Mix well - hands are best for this.
• Remove rice from oven.
• Turn oven UP to 220C/430F (standard) / 200C/390F (fan / convection).
• Take off foil. Spread the Roasting Vegetables on top of the rice. Make sure there's a bit of each type of vegetable on the surface. Push corn mostly under.
• Drizzle with more oil (optional), sprinkle with more pepper.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, rest for 5 - 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Push vegetables aside, fluff rice and toss it through the vegetables a bit (rice gets more flavour). Serve!

AROMATIC BAKED RICE

Steps:

• In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice thoroughly but gently. Soak in a generous amount of water for about an hour then rinse again, strain and reserve. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, fry the shallots in the oil until golden and crisp. Drain shallots and reserve on a paper towel, saving the delicious flavored oil for another dish.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the spices and gently fry until they are very aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the milk to the spice pot and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a deep clay or ceramic baking dish (a soufflé dish works well) and have a piece of heavy-duty foil ready. Cook the rice in the boiling water, stirring gently once or twice, until the grains are just cooked but still offer a little resistance to the tooth (think al dente pasta), about 6 minutes. Strain and immediately scoop into the prepared baking dish. Pour over the spice butter mixture, top with the crisp shallots and cover with the foil. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest covered for at least 20 minutes before gently fluffing to serve.

BAKED BASMATI RICE

Steps:

• Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with the olive oil.
• Pour in rice then cover with dry chicken stock.
• Pour water on top.
• Add onion and corn and stir.
• Place butter chunks in various spots around the dish.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350.
• Stir every once in a while so rice on bottom does not burn and rice is evenly crispy on top.

INDIAN STYLE BASMATI RICE

Steps:

• Place rice into a bowl with enough water to cover. Set aside to soak for 20 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, and cumin seed. Cook and stir for about a minute, then add the onion to the pot. Saute the onion until a rich golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the water from the rice, and stir into the pot. Cook and stir the rice for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. Add salt and water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork before serving.