Fluffy Arab Rice with Garnish on Top

I have received a message from Brad asking this question, “Do you have a good recipe for the fluffy Arab rice that can sometimes have nuts and fruit in it? A local Sheikh used to serve us this rice as a bed for a BBQ lamb or goat. My wife and I cannot perfect the rice.”

The best rice to use is basmati rice, there is a variety of basmati rice you can choose from, they are available in food stores in the USA, on the internet and many of the Indian store markets. There are many different brands of basmati rice in a variety of tastes and flavors. The favorite that I have used in my cooking they are as follows, Royal, Ghazal, and Tilda basmati rice and always look for long grain basmati rice, they have long slender grained and aromatic rice. There are many ways to cook basmati rice, I have a very simple recipe to cook basmati rice and I always achieve a good result. I do not soak or rinse the basmati rice there is no need. You need a pot with a tight lid because rice relies on the heat of trapped vapors to soften the grains. This will help to produce fluffy, tender steamed rice. I usually add cardamom and saffron on my rice, it give it a huge flavor and aroma.

As for the Garnish, I have a very appetizing garnish recipe that my family loved each time I cook it. For your Garnish, you can add any ingredient that you like and remove any ingredient that you do not like. In my garnish, I like to add almond, raisin, yellow split peas, shred or cut into small pieces of carrots, and red onions. I usually do not like to add spices on the garnish, I only use cumin and a dash of salt. I like to have the taste of all the ingredients that I use from the taste of savory and sweet.

Ingredient for the rice

• 2 cups of your favorite basmati Rice

• 4 cups water

• Salt as preferred.

• 5 tablespoon olive oil

• ½ teaspoon saffron

• 3 pieces cardamom open

Direction

In a large pot add olive oil, water, salt, saffron, cardamom and bring to boil, then add your rice. After the water evaporate lower the heat and cover the pot tightly. Leave it for about 15 minutes, do not remove the cover of your pot until that time, do not use a spoon to flip or turn your rice it will crush the grain, Use spatula or something flat.

Ingredient for the Garnish

• 2 cups split yellow peas

• Water as needed

• 5 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 big red onion chopped

• 2 cups of Almond (should be peeled and cut in half they are available in many stores)

• 1 cup raisin

• 5 medium-size carrots chopped into small pieces or shredded

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• 1tablesspoon salt

In a medium-size pot add the split yellow peas and 7 cups of water or as needed. Cook until the split yellow peas are fully cooked and tender. Drain and set aside.

In a pan add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the onion. Cook until the onion is tender. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil, then add the Almond, cook until it becomes golden brown.

Add the carrots lower the heat, add 5 tablespoons of water cover and let it cook until the carrots become tender and the water evaporated.

Add the raisin mix well for about 3 minutes then add the cooked split yellow peas.

Add the cumin and salt.

Mix all the ingredients together and let it cook for 3 to 5minutes. Add the garnish on the top of rice, chicken, lamb, goat and beef.