Basmati Rice Recipe John promised to publish the recipe for correctly cooling basmati rice, The methodology is unlike normal rice cooking and produces a superior product. This is based on a recipe used in Iran, a country which also produces high-end basmati rice itself. As mentioned on the show, start with a good Pakistani-based product. Fawn is particularly good. There are a lot of ways to cook rice, few recipes tell you how to cook basmati rice properly - the Iranian way. METHODOLOGY The way good basmati is cooked is as follows: Wash a cup of basmati rice until the water runs clear. With most rices it takes 4-6 rinses.
Let the rice soak for 10-30 minutes. There should 3X-5X more water than rice. Bring pot to a boil. This is a boiled rice. Nobody talks about boiled rice much, but this is how it's done. You boil the rice for about 8 minutes depending on the rice itself. You can salt the water or add chicken stock.
You have to keep an eye on this rice and watch how the cooking progresses. It takes making rice this way about 5 times before you get it right. It's a touchy-feelie kind of thing. The rice starts to expand, and the white inner grain can be seen. When the rice is about 4/5 cooked (a slightly firm inner core, eventually you can tell by merely looking at the rice when this point is reached) you dump it out of the water through a strainer or sieve. Before all the water runs off the rice you toss it back into the pot, cover the pot with a lid with a towel under the lid to capture the steam so it does not fall back on the rice.
Leave the burner on for 30 seconds. Then shut it down and let the rice steam to completion. This is all finicky and you'll have to do it a few times to get the hang of it. The variables are: boiling time, how much water is drained off, burner reheat time, retained heat of pot. After about a few minutes you can put in a large chunk of butter to let it melt during the slow steaming process. Do not stir in right away or it will coat the still steaming rice retarding the moisture absorption. After about 10-15 minutes you give the rice one quick stir with a fork to fluff it up and you have perfect basmati rice cooked properly. Each grain should be separate, and the rice should not be mushy or rock hard. | 
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