Name: Ghee Rice (Nei Choru)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Indian (South Indian)
Ingredients: 400 g (2 cups) basmati rice, soaked 20 min; 4 tbsp ghee; 2 onions, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp ginger–garlic paste; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 4 cardamom, 1 bay leaf, 1 star anise; 700 ml hot water or light stock; Salt to taste; 2 tbsp ghee; 3 tbsp cashews; 2 tbsp raisins; Extra fried onions

Ghee rice topped with fried onions, cashews and raisins — Photo: Triv.rao · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ghee rice — nei choru in Kerala and ghee bath elsewhere — is understated luxury: basmati cooked in fragrant ghee with whole spices and crowned with fried onions and cashews. Mild, buttery and festive, it's a favourite for weddings in the South and a wonderful backdrop for rich curries.

Servings: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Rice: Long-grain basmati or jeerakasala (kaima) rice

Method

Tick a step to mark it done.

Step 1: Fry the sliced onions in ghee until golden; set aside half for garnish.
Step 2: To the remaining onions add fennel and the whole spices; let them sizzle.
Step 3: Add ginger–garlic paste, then the drained rice, and stir gently in the ghee for a minute.
Step 4: Add the hot water and salt. Boil, cover and cook on low until absorbed, 12–15 minutes.
Step 5: Fry the cashews and raisins in the extra ghee until golden.
Step 6: Fluff the rice and top with the fried onions, cashews and raisins.