The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well With Leftovers (52 page)

2 measures of cold water

a small knob of butter (to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom of the pan
)

Put the rice, water and a very small knob of butter into a pan with a tightly fitting lid.

Bring to a bare simmer, put on the lid (you could also wrap a tea towel round the lid of the pan before putting the lid on to get a tight fit) and cook for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat. Do not remove the lid for 10 more minutes.

The rice will need to be fluffed gently with a fork before serving.

Include a cardamom pod, a lemon wedge, a cinnamon stick, a bay leaf, a couple of cloves, 1cm of peeled fresh ginger or a star anise in the pot. The flavour will not be intense but the scent will be seductive. Remember to remove the spices before serving.

You can reheat rice really simply by plunging it into rapidly boiling water for 30 seconds before draining it well and serving. But I think this is the moment to add a few extra flavours and ingredients, to turn it into something better than its plain self.

Nothing could be simpler than adding some sweetly browned onion and gentle spices – in fact, there is some evidence that adding turmeric to reheated rice not only tinges it with its marvellous colour and flavour but inhibits bacteriological activity as well. You could use leftover boiled potatoes instead of rice in this dish.

Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cinnamon stick or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cloves

2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1 bay leaf or 3 curry leaves

2–3 teacups cooked long grain rice, preferably basmati

finely chopped fresh coriander, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onion, then cover and cook gently until soft. Remove the lid, add the garlic, spices and bay leaf or curry leaves and cook gently until the onion just begins to turn brown – it will add a caramel depth to the rice when they are mixed together.

To refresh the cooked rice, tip it into rapidly boiling water, bring the water back to the boil for 30 seconds, then drain very thoroughly. Fork the onion mixture into the rice with all its oil. Scatter chopped fresh coriander on top, then serve warm with pitta bread and plain yogurt or Ash’s Spicy Carrot Pickle (see
page 47
).

Lentils
Kichri,
as this dish is known in India, is an ancient staple food (and the origin of Anglo-Indian kedgeree). Substitute cooked lentils or split peas (either leftover or from a can, warmed through first) for half the rice.

Toasted nuts or dried fruit
Scatter a good handful of toasted pistachios or flaked almonds over the spiced rice right at the end or, alternatively, a handful of raisins.

Spicing things up
Add ½ deseeded and chopped red chilli to the onion as it cooks.