Lemon Rice

This is a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi. I have one of his cookbooks and wanted something fragrant for lunch. I had all ingredients on hand and made just a smaller amount of the recipe.

Lemon rice sounds so plain and uninspiring, but when you read the ingredients and check the cooking method, you know that this rice will be something special.

It comes out very fluffy and each kernel is falling off the fork on its own. No clumbs of rice.

Recipe for 2:

200 g Basmati rice

350 ml water

1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper

15 cloves

18 dried curry leaves

5 g cinnamon rind

Zest 1/2 lemon

30 g butter

1 tbsp lemon juice

Wash the rice, then soak it for 15 min. Preheat the oven 200 C.

Crush the cinnamon stick by hand in smaller pieces. Put the rice in an oven proof dish. Use a small pot and add water, spices, lemon zest and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Immediately pour it over the rice. 

Use some parchmentpaper and cut out a lid to put directly on the rice. Then cover the dish with aluminium foil. Bake for 25 min.

Take it out of the oven and get the alu foil off. Let the rice rest for 10 min. Melt the butter and mix in the lemon juice. Pour over the rice and fluff it with a fork. Serve.