Friday night curry part two – jeera rice

So what else do you need for a Friday night curry? Tasty rice I should say. Here in the UK we are forever having colourful pilau rice but in India I didn’t come across that anywhere (which I was quite pleased about to be honest!). What I did have a lot was Jeera Rice. Jeera is just the Indian name for cumin. I love the taste of cumin and it is very good for you it can be beneficial for your digestion which is a good thing when eating a spicy curry! Cumin can also lower cholesterol, help to boost your immune system and can help fight the symptoms of osteoporosis a bit of a super food by all accounts and it tastes good so win win!

1. Place some basmati rice in a sieve and rinse under a cold tap until the water runs clear.
2. Heat up some gee or other mild flavoured oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.
3. Add to the pan 5 green cardamoms 1 black cardamom 5 cloves 1 large cinnamon stick and at least 2 heaped teaspoons of cumin seeds.
4. Fry for a couple of minutes to toast them off.
5. Add the rice and double the volume of water with some salt to taste, stir well and then leave.
6. Bring to the boil and then turn down and leave to simmer until the water has disappeared.
7. Switch off the heat put the lid on and leave for at least 5 minutes to fluff up.