Name: South Indian Coconut Milk Rice
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 150 g Basmati Rice, washed and soaked; 150 ml Coconut Milk, thick, fresh or canned; 150 ml Water; 1½ tbsp Ghee; 1 medium Onion, thinly sliced; 2 Green Chili Pepper, slit lengthwise; 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; 2 Green Cardamom, lightly crushed; 3 Cloves; 1 inch Cinnamon Sticks; 10 Mint Leaves, fresh; 1 tsp Salt, to taste

55 mintotal

35 min hands-on20 min hands-off

Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Mild

Add to your week

Method

Heat the ghee in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.
Add the whole spices: green cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Sauté for 10 seconds until they release their sweet, warm fragrance.
10 sec
Add the thinly sliced onions and slit green chillies. Sauté until the onions turn translucent. Do not let them brown, to preserve the pristine white color of the dish.
Stir in the ginger garlic paste and fresh mint leaves. Cook for 1 minute until the raw smell of the garlic disappears.
1 min
Drain all the water from the soaked basmati rice and gently add the rice to the pot. Toss lightly for 1 minute to coat the grains with ghee.
1 min
Pour in the measured coconut milk and water. Add the salt and stir the mixture gently.
Bring the liquid to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Once bubbling, lower the heat to the absolute minimum setting.
Cover the pot tightly with a lid and simmer undisturbed for 12-15 minutes, until the rice has fully absorbed the milky liquid.
12–15 min
Turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes. Fluff carefully before serving.
10 min

How to tell it's done

Lustrous, snow-white rice grains infused with a buttery, subtly sweet coconut flavor and an intoxicating aroma of whole spices.

Nutrition

Per serving, from 2 servings.

560kcal

Where the calories come from

Protein7.9 g5%
Carbohydrate70.5 g50%
Fat28 g45%

Saturated fat: 21.8 g
Fibre: 3.7 g
Sodium: 1184 mg
Calcium: 59 mg
Iron: 2.1 mg

Estimated by calculation from the ingredient list, using USDA FoodData Central. Not a laboratory analysis.

Getting it right

Tip

Using half coconut milk and half water is the golden ratio. Using purely thick coconut milk might make the rice overly heavy and slightly sticky.

What to serve it with

Pairs divinely with a spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry, Potato Roast, or Kurma to contrast its rich, mild sweetness.

Bengali Macher Pulao

Macher pulao cooks fried fish into a Bengali pulao made with short-grain gobindobhog rice.

1 hr 15 minpescatarian

Bihari Aloo Matar Tehri

Tehri cooks rice with potato and peas from raw, the vegetarian one-pot answer to a biryani.

55 minvegan

Bihari Champaran Mutton Pulao

Champaran mutton pulao cooks rice with mutton in mustard oil, in the Bihar handi style.

1 hr 10 minnon vegetarian

Bihari Chana Dal Khichdi

Chana dal khichdi cooks rice with Bengal gram in mustard oil, the Bihari version.

4 hr 30 minvegan

Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi bele bath cooks rice, dal and vegetables together with a Karnataka spice blend into one thick pot.

1 hr 20 minvegetarian

Burnt Garlic Veg Fried Rice

Burnt garlic veg fried rice fries garlic until dark before anything else goes in.

2 hr 25 minvegan

Ingredients