‘the best rice’ rice with dill & pecans
The name of this dish comes from a friend - who after his first taste of this recipe - stopped, closed his eyes, shook his head, and said:
‘Cody, your rice.... is.... THE BEST rice.’
Obviously, my heart went pitter pat since there is nothing better than feeding and satisfying the ones you love, especially when you can elevate such a basic dish as rice to something that’s... slightly divine. The end of the story is that the rice was an immediate hit, and ever since, we refer to this simple but delightful recipe as- ‘The Best Rice’ Rice.
While most the steps are routine, there are a few additions you’ll see here to make this rice oh so good to your belly. Many people claim that white rice makes them bloated, or doesn’t quite agree with them, or that they aren’t a fan of all that starch. But in Ayurveda - its not only what you’re eating - but HOW you prepare it that makes all the difference in digestion. I’ve added small footnoted descriptions to some of these Ayurvedic preparations to help you understand why these steps are vital to making rice as easy on your belly as possible. (And not going to lie- the texture and fluffiness of this rice might just blow your mind).
SOAK TIME: 15 minutes
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
GLUTEN FREE, VEGETARIAN
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 cup long grain white basmati rice (I prefer extra long grain if you can find it)
2 cups water
1 tsp cultured ghee (can substitute cooking fat of your choice)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
2 tbsp fresh dill, coarsely chopped
Salt / Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Pour rice into fine mesh strainer. Rinse** under cool water, really stirring around the rice with your fingers to start to get the excess starch to release. Transfer rice to a bowl and fill bowl with water so that rice is fully submerged. Soak for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes are up - place the rice back in the strainer and rinse through a few times until the water becomes clear.
** The rinsing, soaking, and rinsing again- is helping to remove a ton of the extra starch, making the rice a lot easier on the belly.
Heat the water in a medium sized saucepan. As soon as it starts to boil, add the strained rice, as well as the ghee,** salt, fennel, cumin, and the cinnamon stick. Give it a good stir. Once the water begins to boil again, lower heat to low, cover, and set your timer for 15 minutes. (This is important- don’t just wing the timing. Over cooked rice is no good.) Lastly, don’t peek at the rice! Keep the lid on and trust that magic is happening in there.
** It’s important to have fat incorporated whenever you are eating grains. It helps to coat the grains and keep them from clogging the path of digestion. Also - adding digestive spices to grains while cooking make them far easier to digest. Not to mention, simply delicious.
After 15 minutes are up, turn off the heat. If you are adding pecans, quickly throw the pecans on top of the rice (don’t stir). Close the lid and let the rice and nuts sit and steam for 5 minutes.
Take off lid and add chopped dill. Take a large fork and lightly fluff the rice to incorporate the herbs and nuts. Note: Don’t over-fluff!! It will start to loose its bouncy texture and get sticky. Yuck.
Season with a bunch of fresh cracked pepper and any additional salt you might like to taste. This rice also pairs perfectly with a spoonful of my Cooling Cilantro Coconut Chutney.
There you have it. The best rice rice. I hope you agree with my boyfriend.
