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It is a well-known fact that Boman Irani, the brand ambassador for P Mark Mustard Oil, is a confirmed foodie. In recent years, he says his interest in food, though unabated, has shifted from street food and restaurant food to home-cooked meals. There is, of course, a very good reason for that. Both his wife and his late mother were excellent, highly skilled cooks so there was never anything dull or boring about the home-cooked food in Boman’s house.
In the past, this blog has recreated crossover versions of many of Boman’s favourite dishes by using Mustard Oil to add an additional zing to the recipe. We will be doing the same in today’s post.
The dish we will be making today is called Parsi Brown Rice. It is a rice preparation like no other. It combines gentle warm spices with a sweet undercurrent along with the subtle pungency of Mustard Oil.
The Parsi culinary oeuvre is fascinating because it seamlessly blends many different influences. The Parsi community migrated to India from Persia bringing with them many traditional Persian and Iranian recipes. They customised these recipes, incorporating traditional Indian spices and ingredients. When the community arrived in India, they settled on the coast of Gujarat – that’s how fish got included in their culinary spectrum. Later, during colonial times, the British influence could be seen in many Parsi desserts and sweet dishes.
So let’s not keep Boman waiting any longer – let’s get started on our Parsi Brown Rice. Here are the ingredients that you will require.
Ingredients for Parsi Brown Rice
Basmati Rice: 150 grams
Onions: 1, medium-sized
Mustard Oil: 2 tablespoons
Sugar: 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon (Dalchini): 1 one-inch stick
Green Cardamoms (Elaichi): 3
Cloves (Laung): 3
Black Peppercorns: 3
Salt: to taste
The quantities mentioned above are for three servings. Adjust the quantities proportionately to suit the number of servings that you require.
Preparation for Parsi Brown Rice
Soak the rice in water for at least 30 minutes. Then drain the water and keep the rice aside.
Peel, wash and cut the onion into thin slices.
Method for Parsi Brown Rice
Heat the Mustard Oil in a large pan on a High flame. After a while, the oil will reach its smoking point and start emitting whiffs of aromatic white smoke. Your Mustard Oil is now ready for you to start cooking. Turn the flame down to Medium.
Add the cinnamon, green cardamoms, cloves and black peppercorns to the hot oil and sauté till the spices release their aroma.
Now add the onion and continue to sauté till the onion turns soft and takes on a translucent quality.
Next, add the sugar and stir to mix well. Continue to sauté till the onion turns medium brown in colour. The sugar too will get caramelized; continue stirring to ensure even browning.
At this stage, remove some of the browned onion slices and keep aside. These will be used for garnishing the dish. These onion slices add a very special taste to the dish because they combine the pungency of Mustard Oil, the caramelized sweetness of sugar, and the hot sensation of onion.
Now add the rice to the pan and then add around 750 millilitres of water into the pan. Also add salt to taste and stir to mix all the contents.
Cover the pan and cook till the rice is done and all the water gets absorbed. If you find that the water has got absorbed but the rice hasn’t quite cooked till then, add a little more water – a couple of tablespoons should be enough. Then cover the pan and cook for another couple of minutes. Then switch the flame off.
Transfer the contents to a serving dish and garnish with the caramelized onion slices you had kept aside earlier.
Your traditional Parsi Brown Rice is now ready. Serve it hot. This dish is usually eaten with another Parsi favourite – Dhansak.
You can find more recipes at : https://www.purioilmills.com/recipes-in-english/
