My new favorite rice.

I'm a pretty big fan of rice.....all different types of rice dishes....long grain, short grain, sticky, pilaf, risotto, perfume, paella and yes, when in a pinch at home, i've used minute rice.......what does all that rice have in common?......yup, it's all white....im not a fan of wild or brown rice. Something about the texture more then the taste I find. Until one day I saw brown basmati rice in the bulk barn.....I love white basmati (it's my favorite of all the white variety) so I thought I'd give it a try. It was awesome!.... It doesn't take on the same flavour as white basmati (you know, that nutty flavour)....but the texture after cooked was very close to a pilaf. Here is a quick pilaf recipe you can try.......feel free to play with all the ingredients as per your flavour profile.....but do not change the rice to liquid ratio or the cooking times / procedure.

Serves about 4:
1/2 red onion diced
1 cloved crushed or minced garlic
1 tsp salt
.5 tsp pepper
2 tbs butter
1 tbs canola oil
1.5 cups brown basmati rice
2 whole bayleaves
1.75 cups liquid (water or stock)
1 tsp diced fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, whatever you like)
.25 cup frozen peas and or chopped fresh spinach
Method:
In a pot (that has a tight cover) fry the onions in the oil until lightly browned.
Add the garlic, bay leaves and salt and continue to fry for 1 minute....do not let it brown any more.
Add the basmati and cook for 1 minute.
Add the liquid and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, stir once then put pot lid on and turn heat to low and set a timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn heat off and set timer for another 20 minutes to allow the rice to rest....do not open the lid.....don't even sneak a peak!
Once the resting timer is done, now you can peak.....carefully remove the lid and fold in the butter (optional) and the peas or spinach. Folding these last ingredients fluff the rice, let rest again with cover back on for 5 minutes...it is now ready to serve.
Note: you can sub some of the liquid for many things....I like to use half veggie stock and the other half coconut milk....or half chicken stock and half stewed tomatoes.........just make sure the total liquid always equals 1.75 cups.

Guilt free brown rice.
Jeff