[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by bblost

But the same would apply to cooking using a pressure cooker as well, right?

Nope.

Pressure cooker does not permit air or liquid to escape at low pressure and hence trapped steam increases the internal pressure and temperature, which is maintained throughout cooking time.The only way the steam can escape is through a regulator on the lid when the pressure has built up.

This saves the cooking time and gas too.

Rice cooker does not have this feature of steam release and thus absorbs all the starch present in the rice,making it unhealthy for daily use.Moreover, senior citizens and diabetics should avoid using Rice cooker even for occasional use.

[bblost]

Very interesting point of view. But being the inquisitive type, I started googling and found the following study conducted by the Univ of Mysore.

It concludes with the following

Nutritional Quality of Microwave and Pressure Cooked Rice (Oryza sativa) Varieties

It can be concluded that cooking as such influenced the nutritional quality of rice but between the two cooking methods there were no significant differences.

[amohit]

^ AFAIK, the only way to get the starch out of rice is to cook in an open vessel and then when its half cooked, drain out some of the water. This water contains most of the starch.

I remember my grand mother used to do this.

Regards,

[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by bblost

Very interesting point of view. But being the inquisitive type, I started googling and found the following study conducted by the Univ of Mysore.

I gave my inputs (with my limited knowledge) on Rice cooker vs Pressure Cooker.

I seldom use microwave, never for cooking.

[bblost]

@SILVERWOOD. Please don't take offense.
I mean absolutely no sarcasm or disrespect.
Just that this is such an interesting point I got a little carried away and could have worded my earlier post better.

[SILVERWOOD]

[quote=amohit;2309486]^ AFAIK, the only way to get the starch out of rice is to cook in an open vessel and then when its half cooked, drain out some of the water. This water contains most of the starch.

I remember my grand mother used to do this.

+1 on this method of rice cooking as it drains out the starch.My wife, my sis and my aunt (all docs) practice this method religiously, though it is time consuming.

Regards,

Originally Posted by bblost

@SILVERWOOD. Please don't take offense.
I mean absolutely no sarcasm or disrespect.
Just that this is such an interesting point I got a little carried away and could have worded my earlier post better.

No offense taken bblost.

Coming from a Clinical Research background,let me tell you that research data from a single site could be just by chance and hence not considered as standard.

Thus we conduct multi-racial multi-centric studies for unbiased results.

[Aroy]

[quote=SILVERWOOD;2309558]

Originally Posted by amohit

Coming from a Clinical Research background,let me tell you that research data from a single site could be just by chance and hence not considered as standard.

Thus we conduct multi-racial multi-centric studies for unbiased results.

What we must keep in mind that most of such research relies on statistics of "small numbers", and in general until and unless your methodology is excellent and your samples representative, you can get any result you want to prove your point.

Throwing away rice water is also standard method while cooking "par boiled" rice in the Eastern States. In fact the water was used to starch cotton clothes in our child hood. Even today my wife uses this water for starching her cotton saris.

[traveloholic]

Been planning to post on this thread for a long time.

As per the MOU signed at my home, I take the mantle of cooking dinner every Saturday and I happily obliged to it as I love cooking. Mom & Wifey do deserve a break once a week, so that they can also crib about the food I make. When I crib about what they make, they should also have an opportunity to do so, hence Saturday's Officially "Nikhil Ki Rasoi" at home.

I pity them, as Sunday mornings are very bad for them, reason: Everything changes places & need to be set right again.

Ok, here's what I made them for Dinner - Malai Prawns & Zeera Rice



Malai Prawns
Ingredients:

• 1 kg large prawns
• 2 large onions
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 green chillies
• 2 tbsps garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 3 tbsps single cream
• 3 tbsps vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Grind the onions, tomatoes, 2 green chillies into a fine paste in a food processor.
• Heat the oil in a pan and add the paste to it. Fry for a minute.
• Add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry for another minute.
• Add the spices and brown masala till the oil begins to separate from it.
• Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.
• Add the prawns and cook for another 2 minutes only.
• Turn off the fire and stir in the cream.
• Garnish with coriander leaves

Zeera Rice
Ingredients:

• 2 cup Basmati rice
• 3 cups water
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsps vegtable, sunflower or canola oil/ghee
• 1 large onion chopped fine
• 2 tsps cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation:

• Wash the Basmati rice well in running water.
• Add the 3 cups of water and salt to taste to the rice and set it up to boil.
• Once the rice is almost cooked (test a few grains often to check - they will feel soft on the outside but very slightly hard on the inside), remove from fire and drain the water by straining the rice through a sieve or colander. Set aside.
• In another pan, heat the oil/ghee till hot and add onions.
• Fry till light brown and then add the cumin seeds. The seeds will splutter and sizzle to show they are done.
• Now add the rice and stir well.
• Add 1/2 a cup of water to the rice and cover.
• Simmer till all the water dries up.
• Allow the rice to stand for another 2-3 minutes and then serve garnished with coriander leaves.

[SILVERWOOD]

[quote=Aroy;2309650]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

What we must keep in mind that most of such research relies on statistics of "small numbers", and in general until and unless your methodology is excellent and your samples representative, you can get any result you want to prove your point.

Throwing away rice water is also standard method while cooking "par boiled" rice in the Eastern States. In fact the water was used to starch cotton clothes in our child hood. Even today my wife uses this water for starching her cotton saris.

Agreed Sir..Clinically significant info.

The draining method of cooking rice is also practiced in west and southern states as well and yes,many people still use the starch rich water for starting cotton saris and turbans.

[amohit]

^ Silverwood,

I completely agree that starch in rice is not great for health, but the question here is does cooking it in pressure cooker when compared to rice cooker somehow eliminates those negatives?


Need to settle this. Over the years, I have forced my wife to cook rice in microwave as we can get good separated steamed rice without adding any oil. Now, if its better to cook it in pressure cooker...its time to face the heat
Regards,

[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by amohit

Need to settle this. Over the years, I have forced my wife to cook rice in microwave as we can get good separated steamed rice without adding any oil. Now, if its better to cook it in pressure cooker...its time to face the heat
Regards,

At the first instance,please let me know why do we have to add oil to cook rice.?.

[archat68]

We the people from eastern states cook rice with excess of water and when done drain out the starchy water.
But people from north india (don't know about other states) cook rice with measured amount of water (usually for basmati rice it's double the quantity of water to rice). The starchy water gets absorbed in the finally cooked rice which results in somewhat sticky rice. So they add "Ghee" whice cooking rice so that it produces non sticky rice with separated grains.

[traveloholic]

"Nikhil Ki Rasoi" reopened again and this time, it was an all veggie treat for my family members.

Planned to make Malai Kofta & Kashmiri Pulao for them.

While cooking, I came across something and made it too, it was a spontaneous decission to make that. While frying the Kofta's a few of the Sweet Corn Kernels got seperated from the Kofta & were basking themselves in glory. I popped-in one of those into my mouths & Voila!!! This is Crispy Corn Kernel, same like the one I had during one of the Mid-Week Team-BHP Meets at Club8. Thanks Ravveendrra for ordering this that other day. Inspired by what I had at Club8, I recreated the magic at home again.

Here's what I finally made for my family members:

Malai Kofta, Kashmiri Pulao & Crispy Corn Kernels.


Malai Kofta (Veg-balls in a thick sauce)

For the koftas:
• 2 cups peeled and diced boiled potatoes
• 1 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, peas, sweet corn) boiled
• 1 cup paneer cubes
• 2 tbsps of thickened/ heavy/ double cream
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts and cashewnuts)
• 1/4 raisins chopped fine
• Salt to taste
• Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil to fry the koftas

For the sauce:
• 3 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
• 2 large onions quartered
• 2 tomatoes quartered
• 2 tbsps garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp poppy seeds lightly roasted and ground into a powder
• 3 tbsps nuts (cashews and almonds) ground into a thick paste
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsps garam masala

Preparation:
• Mash the potatoes, mixed vegetables, paneer and cream together. Add the kofta spices to this mash and mix well. The resulting dough should be firm. If not add some more boiled potato. Season with salt.
• Make this dough into balls and put 1/2 a tsp of the nut and raisin mix in the center of each ball. Roll into perfect rounds.
• Heat the oil kept aside to fry the koftas, on a medium flame. Deep fry these rounds till pale golden in colour.
• Drain on paper towels and keep aside.
• For the gravy, first heat the 3 tbsps of oil in a deep pan and fry the onions till light brown.
• Grind into a paste along with the tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin and red chilli powders.
• Put this paste back into the pan and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala.
• Add the poppy seeds powder and nut paste and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of warm water (the sauce for this dish is meant to be thick so do not add too much water) to this masala to form a sauce/gravy. Mix well. Season with salt.
• Bring the sauce/gravy to a boil and then reduce the fire to a simmer.
• Gently add the kofas to this sauce/gravy and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.
• Turn off the fire and sprinkle the garam masala all over the top of the dish. Cover immediately and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Kashmiri Pulao

Ingredients:
• Basmati rice – 2 cups
• Milk – ½ cup
• Cream – ½ cup
• Water – 3 cup
• Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
• Cloves – 2
• Cardamoms – 2
• Cinnamon – small stick
• Bay leaf – 1
• Ghee – 1 tbsp
• Saffron strands – a pinch
• Saffron colour – small pinch (optional)
• Salt – to taste
• Cashwenuts – 5
• Pista – 5
• Badam – 5
• Kismis - 5 (dry grapes)
• Fruits – for garnishing (as you wish)

Preparation:
• Clean and wash the rice.
• Drain all the water and keep it aside.
• Take a heavy bottomed pan and heat with ghee.
• Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves.
• Saute for few mins.
• Then add the washed and drained basmati rice and fry for 2 mins.
• Now add cream, milk, saffron strands and saffron colour.
• Combine gently.
• Add water, salt and combine gently.
• Bring it to boil.
• Then close with a lid and cook on low flame till each grain should be cooked and separate.
• Remove from heat and garnish with chopped fruits and fried nuts and mix gently.
• Keep it covered for the flavours to blend.

[Wolfheart]

Ingredients:

Rigatoni Pasta - 150 Grams before boiling
Finely Chopped Garlic - 3 Tbsp
Chopped Onions - 1 Cup
Tomato Puree - 2 cups
Fresh Cream 1/2 cup
Fresh Chopped Parsley - 1 tbspn
Butter - 2 Tbspn
Olive Oil- 1 Tbspn
Chicken Sausages - 4-5 Chopped in even 1 inch pieces(300-400 gms)
Paprika - 2 tspn
Bell pepper - Chopped in small pieces 1//2 cup
Vodka - 1/4 Cup
Salt and Pepper - To taste
Grated Cheese (You can use mild cheddar or the Amul cheese cubes) - 1 cup
Dried Herbs - Oregano + Parsley 2 tspn

Put the Rigatoni pasta to boil in water. Add 1 tbspn of salt to the water. Do not put oil or butter to the water otherwise the pasta won't catch the sauce later.

1. Heat another vessel (saucepan) and add the butter with olive oil.
2. Add chopped sausages and cook for 5 mins
3. Add onion and garlic an cook till onion is translucent and soft (About 10 mins)
4. Add bell pepper, fresh parsley and paprika and toss for a couple of minutes
5. Add all the tomato puree and stir for 2 minutes
6. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 5-7 minutes
7. Add vodka and mix well for 2 mins
8. Add fresh cream and mix slowly till it blends well
9. Add grated cheese and stir till it blends
10. Add the dried herbs, a pinch of salt and pepper and mix
11. Taste the sauce and say "Thank you Wolfheart".

Keep your eye on the pasta that's boiling and check if it's cooked. It should be soft yet firm. If it breaks easily it's overcooked, if it's hard and chewy it's undercooked.

Once the pasta is cooked get it off the heat drain the water and set aside in a dish. Take the sauce and pour it all over the pasta. Mix carefully so that the Rigatoni is coated well with the sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and grated cheese and serve.

I saw this recipe on the internet but cannot locate the link. It's quite a rich flavored pasta and I've tried it twice so far. Both times I've been told by friends who are Italian Food connisseurs that it's one of the best pasta that they have ever eaten. It tasted so good even I was quite surprised. Hint: The Ladies love this dish!!!

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by archat68

... But people from north india (don't know about other states) cook rice with measured amount of water (usually for basmati rice it's double the quantity of water to rice). The starchy water gets absorbed in the finally cooked rice which results in somewhat sticky rice. So they add "Ghee" whice cooking rice so that it produces non sticky rice with separated grains.

Not really. The 'ghee', oil or lemon juice (yes, they all serve to separate rice grains when added at the start) are a short cut method.

Anyone (usually mothers, wives and hoteliers ) who knows their rice is able to the grains separate by controlling the quantity of water and cooking for the right length of time, without the short cuts. The thumb-rule is 2x water by volume. Some actually measure the height above rice (top segment of thumb or finger), but I am not sure of that. I have seen my MIL and wife get it right on the 1st or 2nd try when they get a new lot of rice from the shop, by adjusting the water. Soaking before cooking also reduces water needed and the time taken.

The other factor is how much loose starch is present on the grains. That is also the cause for the foaming on the surface when cooking rice directly in a pot (not pressure cooker). Try covering the pot, and one invariably gets a mess because of foam leaking out of the pot. The more one washes away the loose starch the less the stickiness and foaming.

Thumb-rule: wash till the water runs clear, drain, add the correct quantity of water, allow a 15 min. soak, get it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot, and allow it to simmer till done (usually 10-12 min.).

Basmati, BTW, needs less water - usually 1.5 times - to come out perfect.