World Famous Recipes

This dish is mildly spiced, suitable as an accompaniment to any curried dish. The whole spices – cloves, cardamom, bay leave, cinnamon, peppercorns and cumin – are not intended to be eaten.

Serves 4-5

175g/6oz basmati rice

2.5ml/1/2tsp salt

15ml/1 tbsp ghee or butter

8 whole cloves

4 green cardamom pods, bruised

1 bay leaf

7.5cm/3in cinnamon stick

5ml/1 tsp black peppercorns

5ml/1 tsp cumin seeds

1. Put the rice in a colander and wash under cold running water until water clears. Put in a bowl and pour 600ml/1 pint/2 1/2 cups fresh water over the rice. Leave the rice to soak for 30 minutes, then drain thoroughly.

2. Put the rice, salt and 600ml/1 pint/2 1/2 cups water in a heavy based pan. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. The rice should be just cooked with a little bite to it. Drain off any access water, fluff up the grain with a fork, then spread it out on a tray and leave aside to cool.

3. Heat the ghee or butter in a wok until foaming, add the spices and stir-fry for 1 minutes.

4. Add the cooled rice and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until warmed through. Serve at once.

Tip: You could add 2.5ml/1/2 tsp ground tumeric to the rice in step 2 of the recipe to colour it yellow.