Published March 1, 2000.
We wanted to discover the best way of handling and cooking the rice for the best rice pilaf recipe. We found that while an overnight soak wasn’t necessary, rinsing fragrant basmati rice before cooking gave us beautiful separated grains. Instead of the traditional ratio of 1:2 for rice and water, we preferred just 1 2/3 cups water for each cup of rice. Sautéing the rice in 3 tablespoons of butter for just one minute gave our pilaf recipe great flavor.
If you like, olive oil can be substituted for the butter depending on what you are serving with the pilaf. Soaking the rice overnight in water results in more tender, separate grains. If you'd like to try it, add enough water to cover the rice by 1 inch after the rinsing process in step 1, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature 8 to 24 hours; reduce the amount of water to cook the rice to 2 cups. For the most evenly cooked rice, use a wide-bottomed saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
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