Big Boy’s Brunch

I came home from work this evening to the smell of a great homemade curry and rice, the spices of the curry mixing with the nutty aroma of the basmati rice. Cooking perfect rice should be easy but can be difficult to master unless you have found a foolproof method that works for you time and again. I struggled to get consistent results for ages until I learned to cook rice by the absorption method.

As there are many different variations of this method, here’s one from Mridula Baljekar’s Real Fast Indian Food that works like a dream. One of the best things about this method is that it isn’t time sensitive, so you can concentrate on other dishes knowing that, give or take twenty minutes, the rice will be still be hot and ready to serve.

Cooking basmati rice

10oz basmati rice
20 fl oz (1 pint) hot water

Wash the rice in several changes of water, and then soak it for 15 minutes. Drain throughly and put in a saucepan. Add the water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the surface water has evaporated. Reduce the heat to *very low*, and cook for a further 5 minutes (still covered). Leave to rest until ready to serve, then fork through. Should be nice, dry and fluffy – and if your pan is well sealed, will stay warm for about half an hour.

Don’t be tempted to skip the important rinsing and soaking stages to save time, they are important steps to achieving the final flavour and texture.

Now you have all that hot basmati rice sitting around, how about a fast fish curry to complete that quick meal?

Fast Fish Curry – serves two

2 tbsp cooking oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ red pepper, finely chopped
½ green pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp red chili pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder, heat to taste
200g tub creme fraiche
3/4lb white fish fillets, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
dill and coriander

Heat oil in a frying pan or saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, red chili, garlic and peppers and stir until tender – about 5 minutes. Mix in curry powder and continue to cook and stir 2 to 5 minutes. Blend creme fraiche and herbs into the mixture and simmer until thickened. Mix in fish cubes and cook – 3 to 5 minutes depending on thickness. Season with chopped dill, salt and pepper. Served on a bed of plain basmati rice and sprinkled with hot paprika powder and fresh coriander, this curry is great washed down with a Guinness.

Fresh is always best, just like those TV chefs are always telling us. Let’s be honest though, there are times when you run out of an ingredient or just can’t be bothered, so go ahead and use garlic paste or powder, chili paste from a tube and dried herbs galore. The first time I made this curry, it was with the cheap cod fillets I found at the bottom of the freezer and garlic from a jar – it still tasted fine.