This brown rice, or vagharela chawal, is not the brown rice you get from a health food shop. The brown in this dish comes from onions caramelised with jaggery.
Even with these caramelised onions and sugar, this rice is not sweet but has just a tinge of it that is perfect with dhansak. Lightly golden in colour, mildly sweet and fragrant from the whole spices that release their aromas into hot ghee, this rice recipe is a must-try. It goes with a lot of dishes.
This dish is a traditional Parsi recipe.
I am amazed at how few Parsi restaurants I have seen. The cuisine is well suited to a western palate and was actually very popular during my grandmother’s time in India. The issue, it seems, was there were almost no Parsi domestic cooks. This recipe comes from a visit to one of my grandfather’s colleagues who had married a Parsi lady. She cooked the meal my grandparents ate, with the drudge work done by her own cook, I expect. This is where most of the Parsi recipes on this book come from.
For her, it was an honour and a duty of hospitality to cook a meal for her guests. So, she cooked a meal that was revered within her family. I discuss this more in Parsi family lunch.
It is simple to make and could well become your go-to recipe when plain rice isn’t enough. There are three things you need to do well. You must caramelise the onions well, without burning them. This means low heat and plenty of patience. Next, when you add the rice, make sure you stir it well and cook it a little. This will ensure that each grain is well coated with ghee and spices. The other important thing is to not add too much water, as you do not want this to become an onion flavoured rice pudding.
The recipe features sella rice, which is par-boiled rice. If you cannot get this special rice, good quality basmati rice can be substituted. You will need to reduce the cooking time and the water a little.
Dhansak and kachumber served with brown rice make a family favourite meal from the Parsi community. It is their Sunday family lunch. Could become yours, too.
the recipe
about
equipment
- large bowl
- deep pot with lid
- slotted spoon
ingredients
- 400 g sella rice
for cooking
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 stick cassia
- 4 green cardamom pods - broken open
- 4 cloves
- 4 black peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 1 indian bay leaf
- 2 brown onions - halved and thinly sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp jaggery - grated
- 1 litre water
instructions
- Place the rice in a large bowl and rinse it in cold water, using your hand to stir it thoroughly. Discard the water and repeat this step twice more to remove any excess starch. Note that after the third rinse that the water may not be clear but will be noticeably less cloudy than after the first rinse.400 g sella rice
- Drain the rice, then cover with luke-warm water. Soak for 1 hour.
to cook
- Using a deep, thick-bottomed pot with a tight lid, heat the ghee over medium-low heat. Add the cassia, cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns, star anise and bay leaf. Fry until they become fragrant.2 tbsp ghee, 1 stick cassia, 4 green cardamom pods – broken open, 4 cloves, 4 black peppercorns, 1 star anise, 1 indian bay leaf
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the sliced onions and sprinkle with the salt. Stir, and fry the onions until they are golden brown. This may take twenty minutes or longer. Increase the heat and fry until the onions turn a deep brown. Stir frequently as you do not want the onions to burn.2 brown onions – halved and thinly sliced, 1 tsp salt
- Add the jaggery and stir. Continue frying and stirring the onions and jaggery to ensure even browning. The sugar and onions will caramelise and turn a deep brown.2 tsp jaggery – grated
- Once the onions have browned, use a slotted spoon to remove a tablespoon of them and set these aside on kitchen paper. They will become crisp by the time you use them to garnish the completed dish.
- Drain the rice and add to the pot. Gently stir to cover the grains with the ghee, onions, and spices. Add the water and stir. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, then reduce heat to very low. Cook for 25 minutes. Do not open the lid during this time or heat and steam will escape.1 litre water
- Turn the heat off. Uncover the pot and quickly fluff rice with a fork. Cover the pot with a tea towel and replace the lid. Do this as quickly as possible because you do not want to lose heat or steam. Leave the rice to finish cooking in its own heat for a further ten minutes.
to serve
- Uncover the pot and fluff the rice again. Remove the whole star anise and cassia stick. Garnish with the reserved onions and serve.
notes
private notes
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