Alright, today we’re going to make a really nice rice dish. I guess it’s a kind of Middle Eastern recipe but don’t send me your emails. This is not authentic. I know it’s not authentic. Nothing I make is authentic. This is Saffron Rice with Currants and Almonds. And I’m going to do the really quick version and this is the start of the show here.
This is saffron and if you Google that, fascinating spice. They got to pick like a thousand little of those plants to make one teaspoon and so forth. It’s really expensive. Now we’re going to use my classic basmali rice recipe which is 2 cups of rice to 3 cups of liquid. But here’s how we’re going to start it. We’re going to put our 2 cups rice in. And all the ingredients will be on the blog, foodwishes.com. I put in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and just a pinch which means as much as I could fit between my forefinger and my thumb of the saffron which I kind of smooched up. They kind of ground between my fingers. And that’s what’s going to give the rice this incredible aroma and flavoring color.
Then I add a, I don’t know, I didn’t measure, 2 tablespoons of black currants. You can use any currant you want. And currants are just little dried fruit like raisin but really interesting flavor. Get yourselves some currants. They’re right next to the raisins in the store. Add a handful, well not a handful, half a handful of almonds, maybe third of cup. And this rice is what I serve under my pamograge chicken. It’s just a nice old change of pace from the regular plain white rice. Big pinch of salt doesn’t hurt. Now on the blog I’m going to explain why this is really quick version.
See normally you make a stock out of the saffron and then some chicken stock and then you use it to make the rice. But we’re doing a real quick version. So what I want you to do is give that a stir so all rice kernels are coated with the olive oil. And that saffron is mixed around pretty good. We’re going to throw in a tablespoon of butter and 3 cups of cold water. And again very often this is made of a stock but this is the quick. I want to make it at home and I do a bunch of prep version. Give it a stir. I’ll explain at the end of the clip some of the differences in the methods. So once I stirred up, I want you to put that on a stove until it just starts to come to a boil. Then again, if you watched the basmali rice clip, we’re using the exact same method. As soon as it comes to a simmer and just begins to boil, you can see the bubbles breaking the surface. Give a one quick stir with the fork. Turn your heat down to low, alright, very low. Put the lid on. And you can see me, see, I’m holding the camera. Look at my camera. I put the heat down to low and simmer, extremely low for 20 minutes. Take the lid off to release the steam. Alright, the heat’s off. Put the lid back on and just let it sit for another 5 minutes. And you’re going to fluff it up with the tip of your fork and there you go, saffron basmali rice with currants and almonds. Alright now, this is the really quick, quick home version.
If you make a chicken stock and then throw that saffron in the 3 cups of chicken stock and simmer that for 20 minutes, it will infuse more of the flavor. You can even get more yellow. The danger with this method is the whirling of strands of orange were. You’re going to get like you know, darker pieces of rice that have more yellow. But anyway, if you don’t have the time why bother. This works out great. It was delicious. It was perfect underneath those chicken legs I did. So that’s the quick version. We read the blog for the more extravagant versions. And anyway, also make sure check out the basmali rice clip. Give it a try and enjoy.
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