How to Cook Brown Rice

As we know, Brown rice is a much healthier choice than white rice due to its higher fiber, magnesium and zinc content. One cup of white rice contains 0.6 grams of fiber, while 1 cup of brown rice contains 3.5 grams of fiber.
However, for many of us the enthusiasm with brown rice remains short lived as when we try cooking it, it either dissolves into a sticky mushy mess or is just too grainy to taste appetizing! I’ve been through this myself and almost gave up on Brown Rice, dismissing it to be just for health freaks!…untill our Friend Giri came to the rescue and taught us how to cook a bowl of fluffy soft brown rice that is a pleasure to eat!

STEP BY STEP HOW TO COOK BROWN RICE
Method:
I like to use Long Grain Brown Basmati Rice.

Soak the quantity desired for 1 hour. If short of time, you can soak rice in warm water for 1/2 hour. This helps soften the outer bran layer. Drain and keep aside.

Take 3 times the water and bring to boil. Also add a couple of drops of ghee/olive oil. This helps separate the grain. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the soaked and drained rice. Bring to boil once again. Reduce heat to simmer.

Cook rice on low heat till almost all the water evaporates (takes about 25-30 minutes) but the rice is still wet. At this point take the rice off heat. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes fluff up….sprinkle some fresh herb if you like…and it’s ready!

You can enjoy Brown Rice Plain with stirfrys of your fav curry, or like white rice…you can make different variations of Brown Rice too. One simple idea is to add salt and jeera crackled in a few drops of ghee/olive oil. You can also try making delicious Pulaos…like Punjabi Badiyon ka Pulao

One of my family’s fav brown rice preparation is Scallion Paneer Fried rice….Yumm!