Rice is one of the few food products that occupy an honorable place in the national cuisines of many nationalities. Oblong grains are an excellent side dish for chicken or fish, they often act as a separate dish and even the basis of the diet (we are talking about the population of the southern and eastern territories of Asia).
Rice is boiled, fried, steamed. To enrich its taste, use spices and specially selected seasonings. Due to its properties, cereal easily absorbs all aromas and allows you to enjoy the inimitable spicy taste of the dish.
To understand which seasonings for rice are appropriate when preparing different dishes, you need to familiarize yourself with the characteristics and taste properties.
Curry
To the question, which is the best seasoning for rice, the answer is obvious - curry. The composition of spices of Indian origin from 5 to 10 ingredients. Only turmeric remains unchanged, which forms its basis. Delicate powder of rich yellow color gives dishes of rice a delicate taste and mouth-watering color.
The taste of curry is determined by its composition and region of production. In order for the product to live up to expectations, it is necessary to study in detail the composition on its packaging.
Seasoning not only gives the dishes a rich taste, but also carries health benefits. Turmeric normalizes the liver, cleanses the biliary tract. Its use contributes to the proper absorption of protein in the body, is an excellent prevention of gas formation in the intestine.
Zira
What seasoning to add to rice when cooking pilaf? Of course zira (cumin)! The herb has a strong pungent smell and nutty taste with bitterness, which intensifies with a sharp temperature exposure or grinding of seeds. Cumin gives pilaf a tart sharp-sweet taste. Before adding seasoning to the dish, oriental culinary specialists squeeze the seeds in a mortar to maximize their taste.
Honor and respect in cooking zira also earned its healing properties. It contains a complex of vitamins, beneficial acids, fatty and essential oils.
Barberry
Thorny bush growing in the wild on 90% of the Earth's surface (with the exception of Antarctica and Australia). The barberry is extremely beautiful in the fall, when the berries acquire a deep red color.
Fresh spice is added to sweet dishes with rice, giving them a colorful acidity. For pilaf, dried barberry is used , giving it a characteristic aroma.
Rice seasoning is used in folk medicine. This is an excellent hemostatic and choleretic agent. By acting on the enzymes of the stomach, it stimulates appetite. Light laxative effect helps to reduce body fat.
Rice vinegar
In order to make the popular Japanese dish of cereals and raw fish perfect in recent years, special vinegar is added to it. Sushi rice seasoning can be prepared at home or bought in a store. The ingredients will require apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt. The mixture must be boiled until sugar dissolves and not bring to a boil. The cooled spice should be added to the finished rice, then the latter will find the adhesion properties and characteristic taste suitable for sushi.
Nutmeg
Muscat bone marrow grows in tropical rainforests. When dried, it resembles an oval-shaped brown nut. Since ancient times, spice has been used as a medicine to improve brain function. In the 6th century it was introduced to Europe and used as a fragrant spice for flavoring dishes and alcoholic beverages.
A seasoning for rice with a bright rich aroma, able to intercept faint odors, so its use should be strictly dosed. In large quantities, spice can harm human health, the permissible amount of nutmeg in one portion of the dish is 0.1 grams. Experienced chefs recommend adding it at the end of cooking (frying), otherwise the product will acquire a bitterish tint.
Garlic
He is loved and revered throughout the planet. Garlic is good for health and spicy food. The ancient Greeks gave him the nickname "foul-smelling rose," which means that the person who used it alone will spend time alone.
What seasonings are suitable for rice with seafood? Definitely garlic. Its burning taste and astringent smell will add spice to the dish and emphasize the sophisticated texture of the marine inhabitants. Both aboveground and underground parts of the plant are used in food in fresh and dried form.
The seasoning crushed in the press is more useful, the secreted substance allicin regulates the level of bad cholesterol in the blood. In order for garlic to retain all its beneficial properties, taste and aroma, several of its cloves are laid in a hot dish 5-10 minutes before turning off the fire.
Ginger
The use of horned root (translated from Sanskrit) is amazingly wide - from the dough ingredient to the main component of vodka, from canned food to flour, from marmalade to chocolate. On the palate, the root of the plant is sharp and sweet, stimulating appetite.
Acting as a spice, ginger is used for a wide range of dishes and can be used in its pure form - pickled or mixed with lemon. On sale there are white and black varieties of fresh root vegetables, as well as a dry ground version.
Before using fresh seasoning, it is necessary to remove the dense skin, such ginger will be juicy and fragrant, dry - an order of magnitude sharper. As a seasoning for rice, it is indispensable in sushi, pickled spice slices are permanent attributes of rolls and reveal their taste in a different way.
Ginger improves digestion, is an excellent diuretic. Stimulates blood circulation, is indispensable for gout, fever and arthritis.
Rice with vegetables and spices.
To feed the family with a delicious dinner, it is enough to combine cereals and vegetables with each other, complementing the inimitable duo with suitable spices. A seasoned rice recipe will be your favorite everyday meal.
The main ingredients:
- Basmati Rice - 400 grams.
- Seasonal vegetables - carrots, peas, broccoli, eggplant, corn - to taste.
- Water - two to three glasses.
- Garlic - one clove.
- Ginger root (grated) - 1 tablespoon.
- Cilantro (leaves separated from twigs) - 20 grams.
- Coconut flakes - two teaspoons.
- Butter - 80 grams.
- Cumin - ½ teaspoon.
- Turmeric - 1 teaspoon.
- Carnation - 3-5 inflorescences.
- Dried laurel leaf - 4 pieces.
- Ground cardamom - 10 grams.
- Salt is on the tip of a knife.
- Cayenne pepper - 1/3 teaspoon.
- Lime - for decoration.
Cooking process
Rinse rice in plenty of water twice. Wash vegetables, remove seeds and stalks, cut into cubes of 0.5 centimeters.
Put butter in a pan with a thick bottom, melt, add cumin, turmeric, ginger root, coconut flakes and garlic. Heat until the spices begin to emit a distinctive aroma. Add cardamom, cloves, bay leaf and cayenne pepper. Mix.
Put washed rice, chopped vegetables, mix with a wooden spatula. Fry over high heat for 2-3 minutes, so the finished cereal will be more crumbly.
Heat the water, pour into the pan, bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, leaving a gap of a couple of centimeters, reduce heat to a minimum, achieve rice softness. On average, it takes 10-15 minutes.
When serving, remove a clove of garlic, garnish with sliced lime chopped cilantro leaves.
The dish goes well with fried, stewed or grilled pork, beef and red fish.