Sri Lankan Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups Mahatma® Jasmine Rice
- 3 tbsp butter
- 6 cardamom pods
- 6 whole cloves
- 1/4 tsp peppercorns
- 1 onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 3/4 cup store-bought crispy fried onions
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Fragrant and flavorful, the odor from the kitchen will tell you that dinner is waiting for you at the table!
Step 1
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, melt butter. Cook cardamom, cloves, and peppercorns for 2 to 3 mins or until fragrant. Stir in onion, garlic, ginger. Cook, stirring often, for 5 to 6 mins or until tender and starting too lightly brown.
Step 2
Stir in rice, salt and turmeric. Cook for 1 to 2 mins or until well coated and toasted. Stir in broth and coconut milk; bring to a boil.
Step 3
Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 mins or until rice is tender and absorbs most of the liquid. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Remove spices before serving.
Step 4
Stir in crispy fried onions and cilantro.
Recipe Tips
Add 2 curry leaves, 2 kaffir lime leaves, 2 bay leaves or 2 strips fresh lime peel.
For homemade crispy onions, heat 1 cup vegetable oil in wok set over medium-high heat until almost smoking. In a bowl, toss sliced onions with 2 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 black pepper. Cook stirring often until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel.
Substitute crispy onions with crispy shallots if preferred.
Recipe Video
What is Cardamom?
A variety of plants in the ginger family produce the seed pods used to make the spice cardamom. Cardamom pods are triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped. Although the cardamom pods contain a variety of seeds, the complete pod can be utilized whole or powdered. Small and black in hue, the seeds vary in size and color depending on the species.
In addition to Middle Eastern food, cardamom is used in Indian cooking. Basmati rice and a variety of curries are made in Indian cuisine using entire cardamom pods. Some desserts are spiced with ground cardamom in Middle Eastern recipes.
Whole Vs. Ground
Black cardamom recipes frequently call for using the entire pod, including the seeds. After heating is complete, the pods are thrown away because it is uncomfortable to chew on the entire pod.
In a perfect world, you would begin with whole cardamom pods when using green cardamom in a dish. Since the essential oils of the cardamom seed lose their flavor very rapidly once the seeds are ground, if you purchase ground cardamom (also known as cardamom powder) from the spice aisle, it won’t be as flavorful.
What Does it Taste Like?
With undertones of lemon and mint, cardamom has a potent, sweet, aromatic flavor and scent. Smokey and menthol cooling notes are also present in black cardamom.
Cooking with Cardamom
If a recipe calls for ground cardamom, you can substitute powdered cardamom for it, but starting with the pods will result in a more flavorful dish. Green cardamom pods are briefly toasted in a dry skillet. Remove the seeds from the pods when they have cooled for a moment. Save the pods to use as flavoring in your coffee or tea. For optimal results, pound the seeds in a mortar and pestle, though you may also use a motorized spice grinder (like a coffee grinder).
For hot beverages like coffee, just ground three to four green cardamom seeds with the coffee beans before adding the hot water as usual. Although some customs call for grinding the entire pod, using just the seeds is acceptable.
In our Easy Spiced Breakfast Rice Bowl you can also find this wonderful spice. Try some today!
