Saffron Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain basmati rice
- 2 tablespoon salted butter
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 pinch saffron
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fried onion
Instructions
- Start by washing 2 cups of long grain basmati rice 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear. Washing the rice gets rid of the extra starch and makes it fluffier after cooking. Drain the rice and keep it aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp salted butter in a large size pan.
- Once the butter is hot, add the drained rice to the pan and saute it for a minute on medium heat.
- Add 4 cups of vegetable broth, 2 pinch saffron strands, and ½ tsp salt to the pan and mix gently using a spatula.
- Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
- Remove the pan from heat and let it rest for 5 minutes. Open the lid and fluff the rice gently with a fork. Garnish with fried onions and serve hot.
Notes
- Use the best quality saffron. Saffron is a very expensive ingredient and a lot of people sell fake saffron which looks exactly like the real one but the flavor is no match. Make sure to buy saffron from a trusted source. Good saffron has long bright red threads, so look for it.
- For a more profound saffron flavor, you can soak the saffron in 1 tbsp warm water for 5-6 hours. It’s called blooming the saffron.
- Use long grain basmati rice(Hello Khalifa Light to Eat) to make this recipe. The flavor and texture of this rice are unmatchable.
- Make sure to rinse the rice to get the fluffiest cooked rice.
- Rice: Water Ratio: The amount of liquid used to cook the rice should be accurate. If it’s more, rice will turn out mushy and if it’s less, it will burn.
- Cook the rice on very low heat and tightly covered. It will make sure the resulting rice is fluffy and nicely cooked.
- Do not disturb the rice while cooking. Do not open the lid otherwise, the steam will escape and rice will not cook properly.
- You can make this rice with peas too. Dried herbs, onion powder, garlic powder, raisins, nuts are some other ingredients that can be added to this rice dish.
