Buttered Saffron Rice

Recipe Ingredients

2 teaspoons	10ml	Saffron
2 tablespoons	30ml	Warm milk
1 tablespoon	15ml	Salt
2 cups	320g / 11oz	Basmati rice
4 tablespoons	60ml	Butter

Recipe Instructions

"The darker (the redder) the saffron colour, the better the quality. It usually comes from Spain, but the best, really expensive stuff, is grown in Kashmir, where I went to see it growing. There are many different grades. Watch out for fake or dyed saffron. Buy it from a reliable source. To use it in a recipe, I roast it in a cast-iron pan until it's crisp to draw out the colour, then crumble it into lukewarm milk and let it sit for 3 to 4 hours."

Place saffron in small, dry, hot pan over medium heat about 1 minute or just until fragrant. Crumble into milk. Fill large pot with about 13 cups water; add salt and bring to boil. Meanwhile, place rice in medium bowl and cover with cold water. Immediately drain rice through colander. Wash and drain two more times. When water is boils, add rice and stir once; bring to boil. Cook 5 minutes; rice should be slightly hard in the centre. Drain in colander and place in ovenproof dish. Drizzle saffron milk over rice, tossing over a couple of times very gently. Divide butter into four pieces; place over rice. Cut pieces of aluminum foil 2 inches larger than rim of dish; place on top of dish: place lid on foil. Bake in preheated 300F oven 40 to 50 minutes, checking after 40 minutes to see if rice is cooked. Serve saffron-coloured streaked rice spooned on warmed platter.

Source:
Madhur Jaffrey, published in The Toronto Star

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