Perfectly Cooked Rice

Nothing ruins a Pulao or Biriyani like sticky Basmati rice grains. So I thought I’d share with you a simple technique to get perfectly cooked rice every single time.

Step 1: Soak, do not wash. 
The most important characteristic of Basmati rice, is its long grains and fragrance. Washing the rice will purge that wonderful aroma that the rice naturally comes with. The Basmati you find in stores today comes cleaned and hygienically packed. So don’t bother washing it like you would wash normal rice.
For every cup of rice, you need 1 1/2 cups of water. Soak the rice in the above said measure of water for 10-15 minutes before cooking.

Step 2: Assemble the recipe
1. In a pressure cooker, heat some oil/ghee. Drop in the whole spices mentioned in the recipe. The standard ones are: Cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom pods and mace. This varies from recipe to recipe. Go by the recipe. Once the spices have popped, if the recipe calls for onions or ginger garlic paste, or any masala (ground spice mixture) add them now (these come in place for a biriyani). Vegetables go next, after the spices are thoroughly cooked and fragrant. Finally, if there is yoghurt in the recipe, in it goes.
2. Add the rice and its measure of water, and squeeze half a lime
3. Season with salt. Always remember, that the water now should taste slightly more salty than you want the final dish to be.
4. Garnish with coriander/mint as the recipe calls.

Step 3: The final step
1. With the heat on high, secure the lid of the cooker without the weight on.
Wait till steam begins to come out of the vent with force.
2. Put on the weight on the vent, lower the heat to low.
3. Cook for 20-25 minutes, till the weight when lifted spews steam that smells like cooked rice.
4. Remove from heat, transfer to a wide mouthed bowl immediately.

Non-sticky unbroken, perfectly cooked rice, every single time.
Hope this helps!