Cooking Rice Indian Style
Spice Up Your Rice Cooker Recipes
As you know, we here at Rice Cooker Fetish believe that the rice cooker can and should be used for much more than simply cooking rice. Its uses span whole culinary quarters and it’s flexibility will see you in and out of the kitchen in no time, as you’ll only have one pot to wash with many rice cooker recipes. A rice cooker cooks food by steaming, and is fully capable of cooking deserts, boil eggs, preparing dim sum, steaming fish, meat and vegetables as well as cooking up the perfect pot of rice. Steaming is an extremely healthy way to cook food, so as well as saving time and energy on the clearing up, you’ll have more energy for your spare time! Here are a few favorite rice cooker recipe ideas from some enthusiastic rice cooker owners around the world.
Chinese style cooking
For a one-pot Chinese wonder, it is easy for a whole family to feast with very little effort. Begin by flavoring the rice with some soy sauce, a sprinkle of dried shitake mushrooms and a liberal amount of grated ginger. After the rice has cooked for a while (so the top is no longer in water) place some finely cut strips of meat on the top. Either chicken or beef work well and layer veggies on top of this. You will find that the meat cooks to a tender perfection as do the vegetables, and you have a tasty dish ready to serve in an instant.
Indian style cuisine
A rice cooker allows the enthusiastic cook to steam up a perfect pot of saffron rice to eat at the flick of a switch. There are other flavored rice favourites that can accompany a delicious Indian dish. Try adding flavor with some turmeric and madras curry paste added to the rice, and a few whole green cardamom pods. Once the rice has had a chance to steam and use up some of the water, place a seasoned slice of fish on top, such as trout or salmon and let it steam. Adding curry leaves to the inside of the fish will give a subtle flavor to accompany the spicy rice. For more great Indian recipes, both using the rice cooker and not, you may be interested in taking a look at Classic Indian Recipes.
Jamaican Recipes
For a taste of Jamaican sunshine in a nice hot rice pot, use your rice cooker with a big helping of imagination. Try substituting the water needed for steaming with coconut milk and add garlic, all spice and plenty of salt and pepper to flavour the rice. For a proper Creole type dish, finely chop chicken, onions, tomatoes and pepper and add to the dish to steam with the rice. Just before the end, pop in a good helping of red kidney beans. All that’s left is to tuck in and enjoy! If you’re looking for some truly authentic Jamaican Recipes check out The Real Taste of Jamaica on Amazon, once of the best Jamaican cookbooks we know of.
Spanish Cooking
This dish can be a variation of a Creole type dish, and it can be adapted to make tasty paella with the addition of seafood such as squid, shrimp and octopus. The basic flavors of garlic, onion and pepper are added to the rice, but in this instance, use passata as the liquid for steaming. This is a good dish to be eaten on its own or you can add chopped spicy sausage; for an authentic Spanish feel why not try Spanish chorizo. Serve the dish up with a basket of freshly baked bread and a glass of the finest Spanish Red wine. What better way to fiesta after a siesta! Here’s another tasty Spanish paella recipe
Greek Style Rice
For a tasty Greek style dish try our recipe for Greek Lemon Rice with feta cheese and dill. We recommend using a long grain rice such as basmati or jasmine rice for this delicious lemon rice favorite. With onions, pine nuts, dill, lemon wedges and crumbled feta cheese it’s sure to be a favorite.
A Taste of the Philippines
For a Filipino flair try this great dessert – banana coconut sticky rice recipe. Inspired by the dish of Bibingkang Malagkit from the Philippines, it’s an unique sweet and sticky dessert that will likely surprise and delight your family or dinner guests with it’s unexpectedness. If you’re looking for other recipes from the Philippines, take a look at the Filipino-American Kitchen Cookbook for traditional Filipino recipes with a modern twist.
For more great rice cooker recipes, check out our Recipes for Rice Cookers. If you have your own favorite rice cooker recipe, please share your recipe with us.
