Rice and khichdi questionsભાત અને ખીચડીના સવાલ
The things cooked every single day are the ones people are least sure about. Water measures, soaking, how to get separate grains, and what to do with yesterday's bhaat — ten straight answers below.
How much water for rice? Is it different in a cooker and an open pot?
Use 1 : 2 in a pressure cooker and 1 : 2½ in an open pot. The whole difference is steam. A closed cooker keeps its steam inside, so almost no water is lost, while an open pot loses roughly half a cup to evaporation and you have to put that much in at the start to make up for it. Basmati wants less — 1 : 1½ in the cooker — because the long thin grain takes up water quickly. These figures assume rice soaked for 20 minutes; unsoaked rice needs about a quarter cup more per cup. In the cooker, drop the flame to low after the first whistle and give it two whistles. In an open pot, cover once it boils, keep it on a low flame for 10 to 12 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat for five. The common mistake is using the same water measure for both methods.
Why does rice turn sticky, and can it be fixed?
Stickiness is loose starch sitting on the outside of the grains, so spread the rice thin on a large thali straight away — the steam escapes, the surface dries and the grains come apart. If it has gone truly gluey, tip it into a colander, pour hot water over it, let it drain five minutes and then spread it out. The cause is usually one of three things: the rice was not washed enough so surface starch glued the grains together, there was too much water, or it was stirred while cooking. Stirring rubs the grains against each other and pulls starch out, so keep the spoon out of the pot until it is done. New rice holds more moisture and sticks more easily, so cut the water by a quarter cup per cup. The mistake is stirring sticky rice to loosen it, which only makes it stickier.
Washing rice and soaking rice — what does each one actually do?
Washing takes the loose starch off the outside of the grain; soaking gets water into the middle of it. They are two different jobs. Milling and handling rub the grains against each other, leaving a powdery starch coating, and that coating is what makes bhaat sticky. Change the water two or three times, stirring gently with your hand, and stop when it runs more or less clear — washing beyond that gains very little. Soaking lets water reach the core, so the inside and outside cook at the same rate, fewer grains break and the cooked grain is noticeably longer. Twenty minutes for ordinary rice and 30 for basmati is enough. Soaked rice needs less cooking water, so reduce the measure accordingly. The mistake is leaving rice soaking for hours; the grain goes soft and breaks up as soon as it is cooked.
How do I get separate grains in pulao?
Use basmati, soak it 30 minutes, drain it thoroughly, and keep the water at 1 : 1½. Toss the drained rice in ghee or oil over a low flame for a minute or two — the fat leaves a thin film around each grain so they cannot glue to one another. Add hot water, stir once and once only, cover and cook on a low flame; one or two whistles is plenty in a cooker. When it is done, turn the heat off and leave it covered for ten minutes so the remaining steam spreads evenly through the grains. Only then fluff it, lifting from the edges with a fork or a flat spoon rather than stirring in circles. A squeeze of lemon in the water keeps the grains whiter and more separate. The mistake is fluffing hot rice the moment it is done, when the grain is softest and breaks.
What is the right rice-to-dal ratio for khichdi?
For everyday Gujarati khichdi take two parts rice to one part moong dal, then measure rice and dal together as one and use four parts water — so 1 : 4 overall. That gives the loose, spoonable khichdi most homes eat. For a firmer, drier khichdi bring the water down to 1 : 3. If you like it dal-heavy, use equal rice and dal, but allow a little more water, because dal drinks more than rice does. Soak rice and dal together for 15 minutes, then cook in the cooker on a low flame for three to four whistles. Turmeric, salt and a spoon of ghee go in right at the start. Tuvar dal instead of moong gives a thicker, heavier khichdi. The mistake is adding cold water to thin it after opening the cooker — use hot water and give it one boil.
Is it safe to reheat leftover rice?
Yes, once only, and only if the rice went into the fridge quickly after it was cooked. Raw rice carries spores of a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, and cooking does not kill the spores. When cooked rice stands at room temperature — and in Gujarat's heat it does not take long — those spores grow and produce a toxin, and that toxin is not destroyed by reheating or even by boiling. So spread the rice thin on a plate to cool it fast and get it covered into the fridge within an hour. Use it within a day, and when you reheat it, heat the whole lot right through until it is steaming hot. Do not reheat the same rice a second time; every cycle gives it another spell at warm temperature. Rice that sat out overnight, smells sour or odd, or feels slimy goes in the bin.
What is the difference between old rice and new rice?
Old rice has a drier grain, so it drinks more water and cooks to separate grains; new rice holds more moisture, needs less water and comes out softer and a little sticky. That is why rice aged a year or two suits pulao, biryani and anything where the grains must stay apart, while new rice is fine for khichdi, dal-bhaat or doodhpak, where softness is no problem. You can tell them apart: new rice has a fresh, faintly green smell and the grain gives under a fingernail, while old rice is hard and smells of almost nothing. When using new rice, cut the water by a quarter cup per cup of rice and halve the soaking time, or just wash it and cook it straight. The mistake is keeping one water measure for both and then blaming the rice when the bhaat turns sticky.
What can I make with leftover rice?
Vaghareli bhaat is the easiest — temper rai, hing, green chilli, turmeric and a little onion in oil, add the cold rice and stir for two or three minutes until it is steaming hot right through. Cold rice from the fridge actually works better here than fresh, because the chilled grains have firmed up, stay separate and do not mash. Other things to do with it: mash it into atta for rice thepla or paratha, make rice muthiya, mix it with boiled potato for tikki, or eat it as dahi-bhaat. In every case the rice should be heated only once — tempering it counts as that one reheat, so anything left after that is thrown away rather than warmed again. And all of this applies only to rice that went into the fridge within an hour of cooking. Rice that stood out on the counter is not worth cooking with.
The rice stuck and burnt at the bottom — what now?
Turn the heat off first and do not stir, because stirring carries the burnt taste up into the whole pot. Lift the good rice off the top into another vessel gently, and do not scrape the base at all. Then lay a piece of bread or a slice of raw onion on top of the rescued rice, cover it and leave it five minutes; the smoky smell moves into that. The cause is usually one of four: too little water, the flame too high, a thin-based pot, or forgetting to drop the cooker to a low flame after the first whistle. Prevention is the same list in reverse — a heavy-based vessel, low flame after the first whistle, and a tawi under the pot if you are cooking on an open flame so the heat is not direct. The mistake is prising the burnt layer loose and mixing it in, which ruins the lot.
Should rice have salt in it, and when does it go in?
Plain bhaat eaten with dal, kadhi or shaak usually gets no salt at all in a Gujarati home — the dal or kadhi beside it does that job. Pulao, khichdi, jeera rice or rice eaten on its own does need salt, and it goes into the water at the start, about half a teaspoon per cup of raw rice. The reason is simple: salt dissolved in the cooking water travels into the grain along with the water it absorbs, so the seasoning sits evenly all the way through. Salt added afterwards stays on the outside, tastes strong in one mouthful and absent in the next, and stirring it in breaks hot grains. In khichdi too, salt and turmeric go in before the cooker is closed. The mistake is salting the water when you are going to drain the rice — most of the salt leaves with the osaman.